Oktoberfest is one of the world’s great seasonal festivals. It is held every fall in Munich, Bavaria, and in other locations around the world.
The first Oktoberfest started as a series of horse races in honour of the wedding of the Crown Prince of Bavaria in 1810. The horse races became an annual event and were combined with the state agricultural fair the following year. By 1818 the folks were setting up booths and serving food and drink.
By the late 1800s the booths had become large beer halls or tents. And that is the image of Oktoberfest that persists to this day.
The beer tents are still set up each year at Oktoberfest on the Theresienwiese, named in honor of the Crown Prince’s bride. Today the Munich festival also features a large midway and fair, and always lots of eating and beer drinking.
This years Munich Oktoberfest runs from Sept. 21 through October 6, and it is expected that roughly 6 million foreigners will visit the city. They will be there for the non-stop festivities — “endless rounds of beer, sausages, toasts, dances, parades and oompah bands.”
Bavaria is a distinctively Catholic area and...