Oktoberfest’s roots can be traced back to 1810 in Munich, which is the Bavarian region of Germany. On October 12th of that year, the crown prince of Bavaria, who later became King Louis I, married Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The Bavarian royalty invited the entire city of Munich to attend the celebration. A large feast and horse races were held in the public fields in front of the city gates. The decision to repeat the festivities and the horse races the following year gave rise to the tradition of the annual Oktoberfest. Since 1872, Oktoberfest has been held on the first Saturday after September 15 until the first Sunday in October. During this two-week period, millions of gallons of beer are consumed.
Contrary to popular belief, however, Octoberfest is not all about beer and not all Germans celebrate this festival. It’s actually a regional celebration in the southeastern state of Germany called Bavaria. And, Oktoberfest is not even considered a beer festival, but rather a traditional folk festival for the entire family. However, Germans do like their beer and a lot of steins are emptied. Chugging is not permitted, however, because German beer is very strong, and after all such behavior is not appropriate for family gatherings. The legal age to drink beer in Germany is l6. So, we might think that the kids are drinking. However, this low legal drinking age reflects the country’s cultural and social perspectives on alcohol. Drinking, especially beer and wine, is viewed as a part of everyday life and social interaction rather than solely for intoxication. To drink hard alcohol, you must be 18 years old. At age 18, a person is considered an adult in Germany.
So, unless you’ll be going to Germany this year, where can you find the biggest and the best Oktoberfest celebration in the U.S.? In Cincinnati, Ohio. “Oktoberfest Zinzinnati” is the annual German-heritage festival in Cincinnati. Based on the original Munich Oktoberfest, it is considered the largest Oktoberfest celebration in the US and the second largest in the world. It was first held in 1976 and it grows bigger every year. Last year, the city hosted a record 808,300 people.
After reading this article, you may be left with a few questions. Why does Oktoberfest start in September and not in October, and why doesn’t this reporter check her spelling before submitting an article? To answer your questions, the weather in October is usually cooler than the weather in September and the days are shorter. So, since 1872, Oktoberfest has been started in September. And, no this reporter does not need spell-check. The month of October is spelled with a K in German, and most non-German festivals keep this spelling to honor its German roots. Thus, Oktoberfest, not Octoberfest!
Hopefully, some of you attended Oktoberfest this year. There was even a celebration in Fort Myers. If not, there’s always next year.
Prost! That’s cheers in German.
