News for the Ramstein, Kaiserslautern, Landstuhl & Baumholder military communities in Germany 
The City of Bad Dürkheim will sponsor its annual “Weinbergnacht,” or vineyard night, today and Saturday. Local vineyards will be immersed in romantic lights and all kinds of colors can be seen across the sky.
Twenty-four local vintners will offer selected wines in illuminated tents. Local caterers and restaurant owners will serve Palatinate food specialties.
The wine growing city of Bad Dürkheim will offer a special shopping night from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday when the center of town will be immersed in special lights.
Fasching is now reaching its peak. Throughout the weekend, and on Rose Monday and Fat Tuesday, Fasching dances, fun sessions, masquerade balls and children’s parties will be held.
Thursday is one of the highlights of the Fasching season. “Altweiberfasching,” or old women’s Fasching, is a day specifically reserved for females and a day when men should beware of women.
The next five and a half weeks is a special time in Germany — it’s for those who like to party, dress up in costumes, and play a different role than in normal day life. In Germany, this time of year is known as the “fifth season.” Depending on the area, this “crazy season” has different names. In the Pfalz, it’s called “Fassenacht” or “Fastnacht,” in Bavaria, it’s “Fasching,” and in the Cologne area, it’s “Karneval.”
The wine growing community of Freinsheim will sponsor its first event highlight of 2014: a red wine hike. The event under the motto “Fresh air, culinary specialties and fine red wines” is scheduled to take place Jan. 24 to 26.
Germans observe Three Kings Day, or Epiphany, Jan. 6. The day marks the end of the Christmas season. The Christmas tree is lit for the last time, discarded, and the ornaments are packed away until next Christmas.
People throughout the world celebrate New Year’s Eve with a variety of traditions to welcome the arrival of the new year.
During a recent event at U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz’s Kleber Kaserne, Capt. Phillip Castillo, 41, a Native American from the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, shared his culture with fellow Soldiers.
Kaiserslautern’s Lord Mayor Dr. Klaus Weichel and the “Christkind,” or Christ child, will officially open the Christmas market at 6 p.m. Monday from the stage on Schillerplatz. The market will be set up through Dec. 23 around Stiftskirche and on Schillerplatz.
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