Oktoberfest - why isn't it Septemberfest?

[hedgehog]

My daughter says the name stems from the old calender when the festival was in October.

[Squatch]

1. From Wikipedia

The first Oktoberfest, held from October 12–October 17, 1810 in Munich, was to celebrate the occasion of the wedding of Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen, and was ended with a horse race.

Because of its success, it was repeated annually, later also with an agricultural fair, dance, music and amusement rides. Overall, the celebration had to be cancelled in 24 years, because of war, disease or other problems. Horse races ended in 1960.

Many people wonder why it is named the Oktoberfest, when most of the event runs during the end of September. The plain and simple reason is that by holding it earlier, the weather conditions are normally better, and, in turn, people are more inclined to enjoy the outside beer-gardens for longer.

On September 26, 1980, a bomb explosion near the entrance killed 13 visitors and injured 200 more. The bomb had been placed by a 21-year-old Neo-Nazi who died at the scene.

[hedgehog]

4. That's what I always thought, but

my daughter says that Ludwig's wedding coincided with an earlier harvest festival held in the eighth month going by a lunar calender with March as the first month. That makes sense to me except that it sounds like folk entomology.

[SOteric]

5. Nah, depends on what she's talking about really, but

'Septo' is seven, Octo is eight, November should be ninth and Deca (December) is 10.

In the old calendar, the year started in April, -which is how we got April Fool's day, as a lot of folks still started their year in April making them look like maroons to the hip, with-it, folks who now had a January.

The thing with the months being off like that, however, is owing to the fact that July and August were inserted in the middle of summer in honour of Julius and Augustus Caesar.

So if you want to be technical and impose the month according to the old dates, we should be celebrating Octoberfest in August.

I say you split the difference, however, and swill beer from August 1st right through to All Saint's Day. (All Hallow's Eve, Hallow's Eve, Halloween).

[tjwmason]

8. New Year's Day was 25 March - the Feast of the Annunciation.

This is still preserved in the British tax-year which runs from 6 April (which is 25 March as per the Julian calendar).

There have been a number of propositions as to how this matches with the widely held theory that April fool derives from the calendar switch - personally I'm unconvinced.

[gmoney]

2. "What do ye mean there's no such theeng as Scotchtoberfest?"

"Ye UUUSED me, Skinner!"

[ashling]

3. Brought to you by the same

eetail marketing types who brought you

Christmas before Halloween!

[AntiCoup2K4]

6. The important thing about Oktoberfest is the BEER

And sadly, I'm not finding any Oktoberfest brews worth mentioning. The winter beer selection will be much better. And you'll probably see them hit the stores by early October (even though it ain't winter yet)

Yes, the beer companies are as bad as any other corporation when it comes to the "Christmas" hype. But at least it's a quality product that you don't have to wait until December to enjoy. :beer:

[Cozmosis]

7. Because you can't replace a letter in September to be Germanlike

Septumberfest? Nah.

[no name no slogan]

9. The same reason the "November Revolution" happened in October?

It may have something to do with the changeover to the Gregorian calendar to the Julian calendar. We lost ten days along the way, which moved a bunch of holidays around.