From late November through December, the region near both Austin and San Antonio offers even more visitor lures.

To wit: Longhorn steer with lights on their expansive extremities launch the annual Weihnachten in Fredericksburg festival Nov. 30 in a parade down Fredericksburg's Main Street, alongside decorative floats and high school bands. The parade is also the place to enjoy some warm local gluwein from the back of your pickup truck. This is one of those events that attracts the locals and visitors, so you'll see Grandma and the kids along with a few cowboys and girls. Denizens of Texas Hill Country have been mixing it up between Teutonic traditions and Texas bravado for more than 150 years, and Christmas is no exception.

Fredericksburg is at the heart of the region, and there's plenty going there for holiday celebrants beginning the Friday after Thanksgiving. That's when thousands of white lights first illuminate historic buildings along Main Street, and Marktplatz (the town square) becomes a holiday wonderland filled with lighted symbols of the season to delight all ages.

It's not as if this hamlet of 8,000 people needed Christmas bait to lure groups to its considerable small-town rural charms, however. Fredericksburg celebrates everything local all year long, including peaches, wine and beer. Add to the fests 300 bed-and-breakfasts, guest houses, 150 shops to lure spenders and browsers, 60 restaurants and bakeries, and a formidable heritage, and you have Texas Hill Country's capital all year long.

German settlers arrived in the region in 1846, and one of the most prominent of the era was the Nimitz family. Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief of allied forces in the Pacific during World War II, was born here. His grandfather ran a hotel, and the restored hotel facade on Main Street now houses the absorbing National Museum of the Pacific War. Across the street there's the Fredericksburg Brewing Co., where German oompah culture makes for a good food and fun stop.

The 1940s era is also the theme for the Hangar Hotel and Airport Conference Center next to the county airport. The hotel was built a few years ago to resemble a vintage aircraft hangar (small-plane takeoffs and landings are a bonus) next to the tarmac. Big band music and war-era poster art welcome guests as they enter the 50-room boutique hotel, which has a small diner and a plush leather and mahogany bar in the Officer's Club.

Visitors who hang their hats at one of Fredericksburg's charming bed-and-breakfasts - most are historic homes such as A Place in Time on Washington Street - have heritage on their doorstep plus walking proximity to all that brings visitors to town any time of year. Local wineries are nearby too, and they provide their usual tastings during the holidays, along with special entertainment.

Out and about, it's unlikely you'll find any snow on Hill Country ground, but you will find elaborate displays of blazing lights against black winter skies.

Johnson City, President Lyndon B. Johnson's boyhood town, is one stop where you can really watch the season twinkle. The historic Blanco County Courthouse celebrates Christmas Hill Country style with 100,000 lights just down the street from the Pedernales Electrical Co-op headquarters, where a million lights outline trees and buildings. Carriage rides beneath the canopy are part of the festive scene.

The Johnson family will light the Christmas tree on the LBJ Ranch Dec. 16 as they have done each of the past 38 years. Visitors may regard a traditional candle-lit German Christmas tree and enjoy cookies at the Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm, located in LBJ State Park.

Marble Falls' Walkway of Lights has international fame for good reason. Sculptures illuminated by more than a million lights ring the shore of Lake Marble Falls, and visitors return year after year to see the extravaganza, which is the work of local volunteers.

Wherever you stop, Texas Hill Country is full of gemutlichkeit (German for cozy, comfortable, warm, inviting and hospitable) during the Christmas season. Twinkling lights, German heritage and many activities along the way ensure everyone an incomparable holiday experience.

IF YOU GO

Texas Hill Country turns on millions of bright lights during the holidays, as nearly a dozen communities participate in the Hill Country Regional Christmas Lighting Trail. Festive events also illuminate the season from late November through New Year's. For more information, call 866-839-3378 or visit www.tex-fest.com. For Fredericksburg information call 888-997-3600 or visit www.fredericksburg-texas.com. Following is a seasonal event sampler:

Boerne: A Hill Country Christmas, Dickens on Main (Nov. 23-24). Costumed shopkeeps and horse-drawn carriages call up the sights and sounds of the season. Oma's Christmas Fair at the Kendall County Fairgrounds (Dec. 1-2) offers German food, handmade buys and a visit from Santa.

Burnet: Main Street Bethlehem with the sights and sounds of the ancient city depicts life at the time of Christ's birth (Dec. 7-9 and 14-16) with live animals and a live Nativity scene.

Fredericksburg: Weihnachten in Fredericksburg, (A Christmas Market, Nov. 30-Dec. 2); Christmas Home Tour (Dec. 8); Holiday Wine Trail (Dec. 7-9, 14-16).

Johnson City: LBJ's boyhood home interprets what Christmas was like in those days (Nov. 24, Dec. 1 and 15). The town's historic courthouse and electrical co-op headquarters fire up more than a million lights (Nov. 23-Jan. 1) as visitors enjoy carriage rides around the scene.

Marble Falls: Sculptures decorated with more than a million twinkling lights sparkle around Lake Marble Falls from Nov. 16 through Jan. 1. Visitors stroll the shoreline to view patriotic, religious, traditional and contemporary symbols, backed by Christmas music.

New Braunfels: Old Gruene Christmas Market Days Festival brings a lighting ceremony, open shops and restaurants, and entertainment in the historic district (Dec. 1-2); Wassailfest is a magical event downtown that includes wassail tastings and strolls through the historic downtown district (Dec. 6); Christmas Gospel Brunch With a Texas Twist offers buffet, inspiring gospel music with a Texas twist and other sounds of the season (Dec. 9).

Wimberley: Opening tree lighting and Yule log (Nov. 24); Hanukkah at EmilyAnn Theatre (Dec. 5); Starlight Symphonic Orchestra (Dec. 16).

Ruth A. Hill is a freelance travel writer.

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