One of the things I love about Germany, and this applies to most of Europe, is the centuries-old traditions they have to mark the beginning of things, the end of things, the middle of things, etc.
For example, recently in Bavaria, they have just finished Fasching, their name for 'Carnival'. The reason for Fasching was explained in our German class - in German, obviously. Hence I didn't understand much of it. Since then I've picked up a bit more. Carnival is a 'big thing' in the north, especially Cologne, where they use huge floats to make political statements to protest about events of the previous year. (2016 must have provided them with a hell of a lot of material.) It's less of a big thing down south, but people still dress up as police and blue-haired princesses and blast rowdy music from stages in the city centres while dancing in what appears to be auditions for Eurovision. In the Black Forest region, they wear wooden masks representing Voodoo priests and witches, and then get confetti thrown at them to 'drive them out': this apparently represents driving away winter, the darkness, and all the 'bad things' to make room for the light of spring and all things good. In Bavaria, the word 'Fasching' comes from the medieval word 'vaschnc' which in modern German means 'Fastnacht' or the 'fasting night'. This fasting begins immediately after Fasching and is known to the rest of us as Lent. Shrove Tuesday is the culmination of the festivities, and at 11.11am on the 11th of the 11th month the Fasching Prince and Princess were selected to reign over the 'crazy season' which officially begins on 7th January. There are Fasching balls for every society or guild, such as the Washer-women's Ball, the Carnival in Rio, and the Schabernackt, as well as endless office parties. Fasching doughnuts are sold by the dozen. During this period 'anything goes' and it is said that the birthrate rockets from the 'women's day' which begins the festivities. Well, I wouldn't know about that.