In pictures: How people celebrate January 6 around the world

Epiphany is a Christian feast celebrated on January 6 to commemorate the visit of the Magi to baby Jesus. In Germany, children dress up as the Three Kings and go from door to door singing carols and asking for donations to Catholic Church projects. In return, they write blessings on the door with chalk.

"Galette des Rois" — puff pastry stuffed with frangipane — is eaten across France on January 6 as part of a tradition that goes back hundreds of years. Each cake contains a small trinket or bean; the person who finds it is pronounced "king" for the day.

Not all traditions on this day are religious. In Germany, the Bremen "Ice-bet" or "Eiswette" began in 1828 when merchants bet on whether the Weser river would be frozen in January 1829: in local dialect, "of de Werser geiht or steiht." At midday a man dressed as a tailor checks with an iron whether the river is frozen . The Weser has not frozen over since 1947, but the tradition continues.

Orthodox Christians in the town of Kalofer, Bulgaria, celebrate the religious festival of Epiphany by diving into freezing water to retrieve a wooden crucifix. By tradition, the person who fetches the cross will be freed from evil spirits and healthy throughout the year. After the cross is fished out, the priest sprinkles believers with water using a bunch of basil.

Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, which much of Europe adopted in or before 1752. This means that Christmas Day falls on either January 6 or 7, not on December 25; for this reason, it is known as "Old Christmas day." Many Orthodox Christians fast in the time leading up to Christmas, restricting their diet for up to 40 days before the day comes.

In the occupied West Bank town of Bethlehem, Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III arrives at the Church of the Nativity to celebrate the Christmas Mass with his community. The biblical birthplace of Jesus now has a Muslim majority, but a significant Palestinian Christian community lives there as well.

People who celebrate Christmas using the newer Gregorian calendar traditionally take down their decorations on January 6. It is considered bad luck if they are left up beyond this date.