- Oktoberfest
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/ok toh"beuhr fest'/, n.1. a traditional festival held each October in Munich, Germany.2. any similar festival held usually in the autumn.Also, Octoberfest.[ < G; see OCTOBER, -FEST]
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It began in 1810 as a horse race celebrating the wedding of the crown prince of Bavaria, later King Louis I (1786–1868). The race was soon combined with the state agricultural fair, and food and drink were offered. In the late 20th century the Munich breweries celebrated Oktoberfest by setting up large temporary beer halls, each seating 3,000–5,000 people, and hiring bands to entertain the crowds as they ate and drank. Total beer consumption during the festival exceeds a million gallons.* * *
▪ German festivalannual festival in Munich, Germany, held over a two-week period and ending on the first Sunday in October. The festival originated on October 12, 1810, in celebration of the marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria, who later became King Louis I, to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The festival concluded five days later with a horse race held in an open area that came to be called Theresienwiese (“Therese's green”). The following year the race was combined with a state agricultural fair, and in 1818 booths serving food and drink were introduced. By the late 20th century the booths had developed into large beer halls made of plywood, with interior balconies and bandstands. Each of the Munich brewers erects one of the temporary structures, with seating capacities of some 6,000. The mayor of Munich taps the first keg to open the festival. Total beer consumption during Oktoberfest is upwards of 65,000 hectolitres (1,430,000 gallons). The breweries are also represented in parades that feature beer wagons and floats along with people in folk costumes. Other entertainment includes games, amusement rides, music, and dancing. Oktoberfest draws more than six million people each year, many of them tourists.A number of U.S. (United States) cities, particularly those with large German American populations, hold Oktoberfests modeled on the original in Munich. These popular celebrations, which feature beer and German food, are an attempt to reproduce the Bavarian sense of gemütlichkeit—cordiality.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
