The Epiphany house blessing of the door is a really great Catholic tradition for families. We love to bless our door every year on the Epiphany! It’s very simple to do, it’s not complicated or scary, and you can do it yourself. All you need is a piece of chalk! You can take your piece of chalk to mass with you on the Epiphany and have your priest bless it, or you can bless the chalk yourself. I will show you exactly what do write and how to do the Epiphany house blessing with chalk. Keep reading if you want to start this tradition with your family. 

What Is The Epiphany House Blessing?

It’s a specific blessing for the home that is traditionally done each year on the Solemnity of the Epiphany (also known as 3 Kings Day or Twelfth Night) that is done on the front door of the house and uses symbols drawn with blessed chalk. This is called the chalking the door, and is practiced by many Christians including Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, and more! 

Do I Have To Have Blessed Chalk For An Epiphany Blessing?

Some parishes will have baskets of chalk out for blessing your home on the Epiphany, but it’s ok if your parish didn’t! If you think ahead, you can bring your piece of chalk with you to mass and ask your priest to bless it, or you can bless the chalk yourself.

I now have a printable Epiphany home blessing booklet that includes a simple prayer to bless your own chalk. This full Epiphany home blessing printable pack is now available in the Catholic Icing Monthly Membership pack for January 2022. (Here is a link to buy the January 2022 set of printables separately. Please note, however, that the home blessing printables specifically mention 2022.)

Or you can click here for an alternative version of a blessing of the chalk.

What Color Of Chalk Should I Use For My Epiphany Blessing?

The kind and color of the chalk is not important- the blessing is what’s important! This year I actually used a piece of the kid’s sidewalk chalk, and it worked beautifully!

Who Can Conduct The Epiphany Door Blessing? Do I Need A Priest?

You absolutely don’t need a priest to do this. Can you imagine your parish priest driving from home to home on the Epiphany? I think with the size of most parishes these days, he would need to have the powers of Santa Clause to accomplish this!

The link I’m going to share below says to have a pries or the father of the family bless the home, but anyone that is the spiritual leader of the family would be a great choice to do this! If the spiritual leader of your family is not present at the time of the blessing, then anyone who makes since to be the “leader” is a great choice. When my family does this, I lead the prayer. 

Where Do I Put The Chalk Symbols?

The “lintel” of the door is where this is the most traditional, which was historically the horizontal piece above the door.

This tradition has biblical roots going back to the story of Moses in the Bible when the Israelites were asked to put the blood of a lamb or goat on the doorposts and above the doors of the houses. 

“The blood on the doorposts will be a sign to mark the houses in which you live. When I see the blood, I will pass over you and will not harm you when I punish the Egyptians.” Exodus 12:13

So anywhere around the front door of the home is a great choice! We usually do this at the top of our door on the outside, but I have seen it done anywhere on the door, and also on the inside of the home as well. 

When Do We Chalk Our Home?

Well to say “on the Epiphany” would be simplifying. Traditionally there are 12 days of Christmas, and then the Epiphany happens on January 6. However, most of the diocese in the United States move the Epiphany to the closest Sunday, making it a different day than January 6 most years. You can bless your house on either the day your parish celebrates the Epiphany, or on the traditional Epiphany, which is January 6. It’s up to you!

How Do We Do The Epiphany Blessing?

Catholic Culture has some great directions about how to bless your home for the Epiphany, so I’m going to share that. It does say this blessing is to be performed by a priest or the father of the family, but the spiritual leader of the household is the perfect fit for this, regardless of who it is. 

I now have a printable with a very easy to participate in version of an Epiphany home blessing that is perfect for kids to follow along with. This full Epiphany home blessing printable pack is now available in the Catholic Icing Monthly Membership pack for January 2022.

Epiphany House Blessing Printables from the January 2022 Catholic Icing Monthly Membership (There is also a house blessing and chalk blessing in the January 2023 membership, but it looks different than this set)

Or you can click here for an alternative version of an Epiphany blessing you can use to bless your home.

What Symbols Do I Use On The Door?

Well, the symbols change each year, but here is the short answer for 2022:

For 2022 this is what you will write on your door in chalk:

20 + C + M + B + 22

What Do The Epiphany Door Symbols Mean? 

The Epiphany door blessing includes symbols for all 3 kings, plus the numbers from the current year. 

Here’s what the chalked numbers on the door mean: The first number “20″ is for the first two numbers of the year, and the last number “22” is for the last two numbers of the year.

Here’s what the chalked letters on the door mean:

The 3 letters are the first Initial of each of the kings (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar). 

The “C, M, B also stands for the Latin blessing Christius Mansionem Benedicat which means “May Christ Bless this House”.

More Epiphany Resources For Families

By the way, for those of you who don’t already know, I’m totally obsessed with purple. Hence the color of our front door at 2 separate houses. 🙂

Be sure to check out all of my posts about celebrating the Epiphany with your Catholic family here. 

Since it’s January, check out my new printable liturgical calendar for Catholics! This includes all your major feast days and liturgical seasons along with holy days of obligation, solemnities, liturgical colors, well known Saint feast days, and more! This easy to use and beautiful calendar will be your best friend when planning out your liturgical year at home. There is both a free option and a paid option for downloading this liturgical calendar, so click here to find your options for downloading your own liturgical calendar.