What Does Oktoberfest Celebrate September 17, 2019

Hey Peeps!!! Hope everyone had an awesome weekend. I had an amazing time trying a couple of beers with Momma-San and Yo Gabba Gabba this past Sunday. You can check out those adventures on my SiscoVanilla IG-TV channel. For today I wanted to go into the history of Oktoberfest.

Now I know that for many of you Oktoberfest brings images of men in lederhosen, Fraulein carrying many steins full of beer, schnitzel, sausages, pretzels and other German delicacies. Think Clark Griswold from the slap fighting dance and chase scene in National Lampoon's European Vacation.

But as with most drinking festivals and "holidays" there is real life history behind the reason for the season. Yes, even St. Paddy's Day celebrates the life of the missionary who would become St. Patrick and not just a drinking "holiday." But I digress, back to Bavaria/Germany and Oktoberfest.

Back in 1810, October 12, 1810 a massive wedding celebration was held in Munich to honor the nuptials of Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. 

 

Feasts were held and horse races were run for the celebration that initially lasted for five days. The festival would prove so popular that it would be held again the next year and grew with each passing year. The addition of beer started slow but would later grow to prominence within the celebration. According to the The History of Oktoberfest from the official website for Ofest:

In the first few decades, the choices of amusements were sparse. In 1818, the first carousel and two swings were set up. Vistitors were able to quench their thirst at small beer stands, which grew rapidly in number. In 1896 the beer stands were replaced by the first beer tents and halls set up by the enterprising landlords with the backing of the breweries. The remainder of the festival site was taken up by a fun-fair. The range of carousels offered was already increasing rapidly in the 1870's as the fairground trade continued to grow and develop in Germany. 

This year marks the 186th celebration of Oktoberfest which runs from September 21 - October 6, 2019. Only wars and plagues would interrupt the yearly festival which marked its 200th anniversary in 2010.

Though as of now I don't see myself attending an Oktoberfest this year, I have already sampled a couple of Oktoberfest beers.

I had the Sam Adams Octoberfest on September 1, 2019 and the Goose Island Oktoberfest on September 15, 2019. Click on the link for each brew to see what I thought about it on my IG-TV channel. Plus I have some other Oktoberfest offerings on deck. So keep your eyes peeled for my posts on those.

Until Then Happy Drinking,
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