Between christmas and the 6. of january (3 sages) are the socalled Rauhnaechte (like rough nights).
They have been considered as the no-time. The old lunar calender didn't fit into the solar calender and needed adjustments.
It is said that during that time the veil between our reality and the one of the spirits was thin. A lot of things could happen there. Spirits and ghosts went around to pester humans. Often in the old villages humans made Umzuege (parades?) to drive the bad spirits out. People made masks to scare those ghosts.
Houses have been cleaned with insence to drive the evil spirits out.
In the Edda we find some a similar description of what is called a 'wilde Jagd' wild hunt (hunt as a group of men on a raid). That is when Wodan on his white horse (Schimmel) to the walstatt rides, followed by warriors, valkyries, wolfs, dogs and a thundering strom
thus is what the ancient germans saw.
It is also a time of superstition. My father never allowed that during that time laundry was done and in absolutely no case should have hanged out on the line.
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