One thing I have learned after a couple of years in New Braunfels--this town likes a party! And, given the German origins of the area, the celebrations are usually called a Fest. Wassailfest is the official welcome to the Advent Season in preparation for Christmas.
Even though the original settlers were German, the town embraces multiculturalism. No matter that wassail is an English libation: put together the popular warm English beverage and the German heritage and we have a new coinage--Wassailfest!
As thousands of people stroll the cordoned-off streets, merchants offer free wassail, service groups offer all manner of food for sale, and everyone seems to be offering the music of the season. How multicultural is the festival? Well, as we drank English wassail, we were served a German bratwurst wrapped in a Mexican flour tortilla!
Most of all, however, the Wassailfest is about lights, decorations, and music. It seems as if everyone is making music--from choirs to brass bands to a steel drum orchestra.
A children's choir singing in front of the most-decorated house in the downtown area.
A local handbell choir
Another children's choir on the town green
Music came from both young and old
And, of course there was a "living" nativity scene:
What made this manger distinctive is that, rather than the shepherds watching their flocks by night, in this case it was the angels keeping care of the livestock.
Even the courthouse, scene of serious county business, is decked out for Wassailfest!
