Oktoberfest is celebrated annually in the city of Munich, Bavaria and generally takes place over the last 2 weeks of September and into the first weekend in October to take advantage of favorable weather. It is the world’s largest fair attracting around 5 million visitors every year!
Munich is a city of around 1.5 million inhabitants found in the southern portion of Germany in the state of Bayern or Bavaria. Bavaria is Germany’s largest state by landmass and is the heartland of tradition in Germany. In this region it is not uncommon to see people wearing traditional clothes or Trachten on their way to festivals throughout the year. In the countryside, the Catholic Church’s bells ring out on Sunday mornings to call people to worship and neighbors still greet each other with a friendly Grüss Gott!
Oktoberfest recently marked its 200-year anniversary, as it began as a Royal wedding celebration in 1810. However, since the early 1900s it has been more of a festival of the various breweries found in this part of the world. In fact, beer drinking, eating and traditional German Blasmusik are at the center of the celebration. Somewhere in the neighbourhood of 7,000,000 liters of beer are consumed annually from specialty Krüge, or beer mugs, in the various beer gardens.
Traditional German food is also consumed in enormous quantities. Some of the more popular dishes include Hänchen (roast chicken), Schweinebraten (roast pork), Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), and many varieties of sausages or Würste, eaten with mustard and large bread pretzels, or Brezel, (pictured above). Common side dishes include dumplings, cooked cabbage and potato pancakes.
Local families make day visits and children enjoy carousel rides and other family entertainment. Many wear their traditional clothes that comprise of Lederhosen for men and Dirndl for women. People sit outside for hours enjoying the weather, socializing and people watching. Once the sun sets, the younger crowds take over, drinking and carousing late into the night. Smaller Oktoberfests are also held in German communities around the world. The Alpen Club in Vancouver holds its own festivities in the first weeks of October every year.
