We have a somewhat \u201cfamous\u201d place here in Shepherdstown called the Bavarian Inn. It\u2019s restaurant serves German food and people come quite a distance to dine on their favorite German dishes.<\/p>\n
Every year the Bavarian Inn holds a German festival, known as \u2014 your guessed it \u2014 Oktoberfest. This year it was held on September 17\u2026 in fact it\u2019s held in September every<\/em> year. So you\u2019re probably asking why, if it\u2019s called Oktoberfest, it\u2019s not held in October. I\u2019ve often wondered that myself over the years.<\/p>\n The first time I ever experienced an Oktoberfest was in Germany. I think the original, and probably still the biggest and best known, is held in Munich. However, the only Oktoberfest festival I ever attended in Germany was in Frankfort. Apparently the magnitude of the Frankfort festival doesn\u2019t compare to the one in Munich\u2026 but it\u2019s pretty big!! So how did these festivities get started in the first place? Well, in 1810, Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hidburghausen, and all the citizens were invited to the celebration. Since then, the festival has grown to include horse races, games, rides, music and \u2014 beer. It\u2019s interesting that originally the celebration did not<\/em> include beer. In the festival\u2019s early years, beer was only served outside the fair, or festival, grounds. Of course that\u2019s no longer the case \u2014 now more than 7.5 million liters are consumed each year. When there\u2019s a 16-day long beer festival, some people, or a lot<\/em> of people, are bound to have one pint too many. When someone passes out from too many beers, the locals call them \u201cBierleichen\u201d \u2014 or, \u201cBeer Corpses.\u201d I saw many<\/em> of them at the one Oktoberfest I attended in Frankfort. In fact, you could hardly walk for all the Beer Corpses. The protocol seems to be, you just step over them and carry on\u2026.<\/p>\n So back to wondering why Oktoberfest begins in September\u2026 by moving the festivities up, it allowed for better weather conditions. Because the September nights were warmer, visitors were able to enjoy the gardens outside the tents and stroll over \u201cdie Wiesen\u201d or the fields much longer without feeling chilly. Historically, the last Oktoberfest weekend was in October and that tradition continues today. Having better weather is also nicer for the Beer Corpses when they come back to life\u2026.. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We have a somewhat \u201cfamous\u201d place here in Shepherdstown called the Bavarian Inn. It\u2019s restaurant serves German food and people come quite a distance to dine on their favorite German dishes. Every year the Bavarian Inn holds a German festival, … Continue reading
\nThis year, the real<\/em> Oktoberfest (in Munich) began on Saturday, September 17. At noon on that day, the Mayor of Munich tapped the first keg of Oktoberfest beer. The mayor tapping the first keg of beer officially starts Oktoberfest. The mayor declares, \u201cO\u2019 zapft is!\u201d (\u201cIt\u2019s tapped\u201d.) Once that first keg is tapped, the first person to get a beer is traditionally the Minister-President of the State of Bavaria, but after that, all visitors are allowed to quench their thirst. This year\u2019s festival ends on October 3 (officially at 11:30 pm.)<\/p>\n
\nOktoberfest regulations say that the only beer that can be served for the celebration must be from one of Munich\u2019s six breweries \u2014 Paulaner, Spaten, Hacker-Pschon, Augustiner, Hofbrau, and Lowenbrau. And, like all other German brews, Oktoberfest beers must pass the \u201cpurity\u201d law or Reinheitsgebot, which was passed in 1516 to ensure the beer\u2019s quality.<\/p>\n
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n