Just when I thought I knew all about Germany I learn something new. Now you may be aware that leaving up your decorations beyond 12th Night (January 6th) in the UK is unlucky, but here in Germany it is normal to leave them up until after 12th Night. Of course this meant that the 'crazy English people' were seen dragging their Christmas trees down the street on January 5th! And you should have seen the fuss when I insisted on taking the tree down at the English club too - well it is the English club after all.
You can also imagine my shock when I saw children carol singing on January 6th! I thought I had tripped over a ripple in time or that they were some strange religious cult who had a different calendar to the rest of us. In fact the cult idea kind of fit, there they were all dressed in white, with crowns on their heads! It wasn't until a friend explained to me that good little Catholic boys and girls dress up as kings for three kings day on January 6th (it is called drei Königs Tag) they then sing carols and collect money for donations to different projects.
I love living abroad!
Note that Twelfth Night is actually January 5th, not January 6th-- you start counting on December 25th.
Yes but, no but. According to some esoteric and astrological interpretations of Christmas, the "Twelve Holy Days" start on December 26, the day following Christmas "holy day", and end on January 6; therefore the night of January 6 is regarded as the Twelfth Night, and is held to have been the time when the "Rite of Baptism" was performed in early Christianity,[2] and of course the date of Epiphany itself.