I've found that dry Galanthus seed generally germinates well if surface sown, covered with a centimeter or so of grit, watered and left in a cold frame. Unless the seed is sown very fresh, it often seems to take two winters to break dormancy, so perhaps it does need a warm moist period before the cold, like Helleborus, which disperses seed at roughly the same time of year. Sown in January I'd be surprised, therefore, if it germinates before spring 2014. I have never bothered soaking Galanthus seed prior to germination. My view is that this treatment only helps in genera where germination inhibitors can be leached out of the seed by repeated soaking and washing - for example some Iris, Arum or Glaucidium palmatum, where the classic treatment is to put the seeds in a sock and tie it to the arm of the ball valve inside your lavatory cistern for a couple of weeks.
