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The Twelve Nights and the Rauhnächte
The twelve nights from Christmas to Epiphany, when in German-speaking lands the Wild Hunt rides, animals are said to speak, and houses are smoked.
About The Twelve Nights and the Rauhnächte
In the Alps and southern Germany the Rauhnächte, often translated as the smoky or rough nights, are the days between Christmas and Epiphany, a period outside normal time in older belief. Households carry incense through house and stable, the way to ward off the spirits who are said to roam, and avoid washing and hanging laundry, which could be caught up by the Wild Hunt. Each night was read as an omen for one month of the coming year, and dreams in the period were taken seriously. Perchta, a figure who rewards the diligent and punishes the idle, is associated with the end of the season. The date range varies, some counts beginning on 21 December, and the tradition has been revived by modern Pagans and in alpine tourism.
Entries tied to it
Also part of it, and being written: Twelve Nights (The period and its omens.), Twelve Days of Christmas (The Christian framing of the same days.).
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Twelve Nights" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family, and are described as belief and practice. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Wild Hunt: Peter Nicolai Arbo, Public domain, source
- Perchta: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source