German Festivals and Traditions

Blog Post #2

April 14, 2015

By: Justin Ehren

The world’s largest festival happens to be held in Germany every year from late September to early October.  This annual fair is 16 days long and is held in Munich Germany, called Oktoberfest.  This huge festival which hosts more then 6 million people every year started when a 19th-century wedding celebration for the prince of Bavaria and his bride.  This festival now takes place every year, which includes a very large amount of drinking beer, and enjoying amusement rides for all ages. Here in Munich, they set up 14 large tents and 20 small tents in which people can go around getting beer, wine, listening to bands play, and eating food. Some of the popular foods include roasted chicken, roasted pork, grilled ham, grilled fish on a stick, sausages, pretzels, potato dumplings, and much more.  This is considered the largest fair in the world and is even modeled by other countries, but Germany's festival is easily considered the most popular one in the world.  Another popular holiday there is Christmas.  Christmas in Germany is very similar to Christmas in the U.S., and includes Christmas trees, decorating, and gift giving.  The food over Christmas is also very popular.  To see some of their different types of traditional meals, you can go here http://www.germanfoodguide.com/holiday-christmas.cfm, and see both Christmas day and Christmas Eve meals.  These traditional Christmas meals consist of duck, goose, rabbit, or a roast with potato dumplings and red cabbage.  Another very famous German dish is called the Stollen, or fruitcake.  The fruitcake is a very popular food all over the world but is best found in Germany and made with fruit and nuts.   

Citations:

Bauholz, Henri. "Holidays & Festivals in Germany." Travel Tips. Web. 15 Apr. 2015. <http://traveltips.usatoday.com/holidays-festivals-germany-3448.html>.

"Our Top Ten Favorite Christmas Traditions - Germanfoods.org."Germanfoodsorg. Web. 15 Apr. 2015. <http://germanfoods.org/german-food-facts/german-christmas-traditions/>.

"What Is Oktoberfest?" What Is Oktoberfest? Web. 15 Apr. 2015. <http://www.germanclubsandiego.org/oktoberfest-what>.