Re: End of term
No, it's not. In Germany, it's actually the middle of the term (Wintersemester). Traditionally, there are lectures up to Christmas Eve. I have also taken written exams in the last week before Christmas. There is a Christmas break starting with Christmas Eve till January 6th (holiday celebrating the [three] biblical magi).
That said, the last week before Christmas is more festive, with administration and research winding down, and the Christmas lectures are a lot more showy (Physics does a chock full of demo experiments, Chemistry shows all the things blowing up etc.), so it's actually a good point in the term to do such a thing.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
