Diocese of Portsmouth
The Church of England
Advent & Christmas

Celebrating Christmas in 2024

Thank you for joining us to celebrate the greatest news the world has ever known – the mind-blowing idea that God chose to share in the joys and sorrows of being human.

This year we will gather at carol services, nativities, Christmas fayres, and parties to celebrate and hear the story of how Jesus became a vulnerable baby, born in a humble stable, so that he could ultimately become our Saviour. Among the various ways that we will celebrate are Christmas tree festivals, Nativity re-enactments and drama performances. Below are details of some of the events taking place in our diocese for the season of Advent and Christmas season, and also for Epiphany.

Advent & Christmas resourcesThe theme for this year’s Christmas campaign by the national Church of England is Calm & Bright, based on the well-known and well-loved carol Silent Night. Find out more here, including the resources being made available.

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Advent & Christmas

Christmas festivals and events

There are many ways we celebrate the birth of Jesus – Christmas tree festivals, fairs, parties, fun days, live nativities, and so much more. Send us details of your Christmas events so that we can add them. Click here for a full list.

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Carol services

We remember the birth of Jesus with carol service celebrations in our churches.  Send us details of your carol services so that we can add them. Click here to see a full list.

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Bishop Jonathan’s Christmas message from last year


‘Chalking the Doors’ at Epiphany

There are a few different traditions for when the Christmas season ends and decorations are taken down. Many think of the twelfth day of Christmas as the end of the season, which often coincides with the Feast of Epiphany on January 6 2025, whilst a large number of churches wait until Candlemas (which is on February 2 2025) to remove their nativity display, which falls on the day we remember the presentation of Jesus in the temple and is traditionally a day when candles are blessed and given out.

The tradition of ‘Chalking the Doors’: the inscription is an abbreviated Latin blessing on the house, surrounded by the year
The tradition of ‘Chalking the Doors’: the inscription is an abbreviated Latin blessing on the house, surrounded by the year

This year we are inviting churches and schools to engage with another tradition, called ‘Chalking the Doors’, where door lintels are marked with an inscription – “20 † C † M † B † 24” – during Epiphany. The inscription is partly a reference to the three Magi who visited Jesus (see Matthew 2:1-12), who are traditionally known as Casper, Melchior and Balthasar, but also to an abbreviated Latin blessing, Christus Mansionem Benedicat, which means “May Christ bless this house/dwelling”.

The Education team for Portsmouth and Winchester diocese have created resources to help schools and churches learn more about the tradition of Chalking the Doors: