Christmas season ended in Germany with a visit by The Three Magi make star singers Published Jan. 9, 2009 By Iris Reiff 52nd Figihter Wing Public Affairs Office SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- Christmas Season recently ended in Germany (Jan. 6) with the visit and feast of the Three Magi, or "Heilige Drei Koenige" as the Germans call them. The event commemorates the journey of the Three Magi who came to bring gifts to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. In the 9th century, the legend of the Three Magi became the legend of the Oriental kings named Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar. In 1164, relics, kept in Milan for centuries, alleged to be derived from the Magi, kept in Milan for centuries, were brought to Cologne, where the golden shrine of the Three Kings (Dreikoenigsschrein) remained the greatest treasure of the famous cathedral. In fact, the relics, sought out by innumerable pilgrims during the Middle Ages, motivated the citizens of Cologne to build their great Dom cathedral. The custom of celebrating "Three Kings Day" spread from Cologne to other Roman-Catholic areas of Germany. For the church, Jan. 6 actually is actually the feast of "Epiphany," celebrating the manifestation of the Savior to mankind. For the Catholic population, however, it's primarily the feast of the Three Kings. In former times and in some rural areas today, a number of superstitious customs were practiced on the eve of Jan. 6 to protect the house and home. Houses and stables were smoked out with branches consecrated in the church, and the initials of the Heilige Drei Koenige, C+M+B, plus the year were written on the door beam with consecrated chalk. Nowadays in some regions including the Eifel, several traditions are still carried on from former times. Groups of adults or children, often the church mess servants, walk from house to house dressed as the Three Holy Kings. They carry a star-shaped lantern on a stick. Because they carry the star and sing a song or say a religious poem at people's doors, they are also called the star singers. In return, the star singers get gifts such as eggs, bread, cake or money donations that go into humanitarian aid funds.