20 + C + M + B + 15

In many parts of Europe, it is customary to mark houses with specially blessed chalk on the feast of the Epiphany. The exact number of Wise Men who travelled to Bethlehem with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrhh is not specified in biblical accounts, but they are traditionally named Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. Their initials are chalked above the front door and they can also stand for ‘Christus Mansionem Benedicat’, ‘Christ Bless this House’.