The time has come for our Nordmanntanne (Caucasian fir) to get picked up by the tree collection truck on Monday, 16 January.

We apartment dwellers will just dump it over the balcony. The Hausmeister will go around, and pull them over to the sidewalk.

Our fir has been resting on the balcony ever since we took off its decorations. This is usually done by Epiphany, 6 January.

In Germany,  about 22 million households have a Christmas tree, with a third of them getting decorated the day before Christmas Eve.

When I was a child, the tree got decorated about an hour before the gift-giving on Christmas Eve. The tree had to be a secret, so my folks had to wait till the last moment. It was Christkind who brought the presents and decorated the tree as well.

Some other fun facts:

• 135.000 children send a wish list to the Christmas post-office in 51777 Engelskirchen (near Cologne).
• The tradition of eating goose on Christmas Day probably comes from England.
• 30% of all Germans hope for a white Christmas.
• 91% of all Germans exchange gifts on Christmas eve.
• Parents spend on average euro 78 for presents per child.