On the Twelfth Day of Christmas we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, marking the Magi’s arrival and the revelation of Christ to all the world. This year, Epiphany falls on Friday, Jan 6; we will celebrate it together this Sunday (the 8th). Often, people honor this day by blessing their homes, with chalk markings over the door. If you’d like a hard copy, you may pick up a blessing card (and piece of chalk, if you don’t have any at home) this Sunday.
20 + C + M + B + 23
O God of wondrous journeys, move and direct our hearts. Show us the way to you, as you did for the Magi all those years ago. Help us to recognize your presence in the world around us.
Bless this threshold, we pray. May all who enter through this doorway know the gifts of hope, love, and peace you bring. May all who go out through this doorway bring those gifts to the world, seeking and serving Christ in all people. Amen.
This blessing is often marked in chalk above the entryway to a home or a room.
The numbers change annually to reflect the new calendar year, thus this year we use 20 + 23.
The + signs are for the Cross of Christ.
There are two explanations for the tradition of the letters C, M, and B: they are the initials of the legendary names of three magi (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar); and/or, they stand for the initials of the Latin phrase Christus Mansionem Benedicat, “Christ bless this dwelling.”