The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

THE NUMERALS OF THE CURRENT YEAR ARE PRINTED ON THE
INSIDE OF THE BUILDINGS ABOVE THE FRONT DOOR OF THE
HOME AND ABOVE THE MAIN DOOR OF THE BARN.
EACH YEAR THE CHANGE IS MADE ON THE FEAST OF THE
EPIPHANY. FOR GOOD LUCK, THE INITIALS OF THE THREE
KINGS ARE PLACED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NUMERALS WITH
A CROSS BETWEEN EACH LETTER. EXAMPLE: 19C (CROSS) M
(CROSS) B 68

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; GERMANY ; WARREN ; BAVARIA ; ALLGAU

Keyword(s): BALTHAZAR ; KASPAR ; MELCHIOR

Date learned: 11-17-1968