The fresh start of a new year is always filled with optimism and wonderment of the year that lies ahead. Setting out on a walk around Prague is always rejuvenating and refreshing during this time of year and provides an opportunity to connect with long standing local traditions. As you wander through the streets you may come across chalk markings on doors or above entryways of buildings in various locations in Prague.
The chalking of the doors is dependent on who resides there and reflects their personal design and penmanship. At first you will notice the groupings of letters and numbers written on the doors or the door frames. Sometimes the markings were in a line, and other times they were inscribed in square format. The letters inscribed are either K+M+B or C+M+B and the current year.
After a few years of living in Prague and noticing the interesting symbolism, our family decided to decipher the code behind the chalk. We noticed it happened in January right around the return to school, which was also around January 6 / 7 each year. Was there a connection to the three kings’ day? Or the epiphany? In fact it is related to the Epiphany, also referred to as Třikrálové Noc, the Three Wise Magi, and the Twelfth Night of the Christmas period.
The three kings of the nativity story were Kaspar (Caspar), Melchior and Balthazar. Chalking the door was literally a way to mark the time of the Eve of the Christian Epiphany. The biblical story tells of the three wise men bringing gifts of gold, incense and myrrh to honor the newborn christ child. Today, chalking the door can occur any time from Christmas day through the Epiphany.
The Christian holiday of Třikrálové Noc is celebrated with special services for the Feast of the Epiphany. Catholic churches are filled with fragrant frankincense and sprinkled liberally with holy water, as blessings are made over white chalk. After services, parishioners go from house to house, singing hymns, accepting donations for the church, and marking buildings with the chalk while they say prayers of blessing for the homes and for people who live in them and visit them.
The year is written to set the blessing for that period. The + signs represent the crucifix, and the K+M+B are the initials of the three kings, but also represent the Latin words Christus Mansionem Benedicat, “May Christ Bless the House.” It is believed the chalking makes a seal, preventing evil from penetrating through the doorway in the year to come.
In researching for this article, I discovered that Wikipedia has a dedicated page called Chalking the Door that provides additional information about this tradition. Much to my surprise was a reference to this being common practice in the Midwest in the USA, which is where I am from and have never seen it until I moved to Prague. Some of the religious orders listed on the Wikipedia page originated in Europe and found their way to the Midwest, many of them located near the village my parents still reside in today.
Gallery of Chalk Markings
(click on photos to enlarge and scroll down)
