Oktoberfest
It’s October, and it’s time for Octoberfest. This is when Germans celebrate beer, wear lederhosen, and dance to Oompa music as they have for centuries.
Let’s fact check those first two lines of this post:
Though some might argue for the English spelling, the proper spelling is the German Oktoberfest with a K. Either way it is known by the locals as Wiesn. Adding to the confusion is the fact that Oktoberfest is celebrated the 17 or 18 days before the first Sunday of October, unless the first Sunday is the first or second of October at which point the festival is expanded to October 3, which is Unification Day in Germany. More to the point is that Oktoberfest is mostly celebrated in September. It really should be called Septoberfest!
Additionally, Oktoberfest refers to a specific folk festival held in Munich, which is in the Bavaria region of southern Germany. I can tell you having recently spent time in northern Germany, I never in saw anyone wearing lederhosen or seeing lederhosen for sale. My guess is that if I went to Bavaria, everyone will be wearing them and you can get a free pair every time you fill your car up with gas.
Finally, they do dance at Oktoberfest, but not to Oompa music. The rowdy, beer soaked, and sometimes raunchy music played at Wiesn is called Schlager music. Schlager versions of popular songs are common even traditional. For example, Take Me Home Country Roads, whips a Wiesn crowd into a frenzy like no other time when John Denver sang it.
Now that I have fact checked my first sentences, let me tell you about my California Oktoberfest experience last week on October 7 - yes, the real Oktoberfest ended October 3. As I have written before, I’m always late to parties. There was beer, lederhosen, and music including Take Me Home Country Roads. There was also traditional food like schnitzel, bratwurst, potato salad - the warm German, kind - and sauerkraut. There was singing and traditional games played by men in lederhosen and women wearing dirndls.
Amid all the activity, one event went unnoticed by all except me: I carried two full cups of beer across the large area at the beer tent without spilling a drop. In recent years, I could not carry half-full cup of orange juice from my kitchen to the dining room without spilling it all. I celebrated this DBS influenced achievement by drinking both beers. I think next year I will try it wearing lederhosen, I’m sure they are available through Amazon if not my local gas station.
