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Oktoberfest

WorldWorld daysUsually September
Oktoberfest

Munich's sixteen days of beer tents on the Theresienwiese, opened by the mayor tapping the first barrel. It began in 1810 as a royal wedding party and never stopped; the beer is brewed to a strength only the city's six breweries may supply.

When it falls

Opens on the first Saturday on or after 16 September and runs sixteen to eighteen days, into the first days of October. Despite the name it is mostly a September festival.

The Phala almanac gives the exact day for your own city; the lunar and solar rules above are what it computes from.

The story

It began in 1810 as the wedding party for Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, held on the meadow that still carries her name — the Theresienwiese. It went so well that they repeated it.

Only the six Munich breweries may serve, and only beer brewed inside the city limits to the Reinheitsgebot. Six million people come, and about seven million litres are drunk.

How the day is kept

  • The mayor taps the first barrel at noon on the opening Saturday and calls O'zapft is — it is tapped — and nothing is served before that.
  • Beer comes only in the one-litre Maß, and only sitting down; the tents seat several thousand each.
  • Tracht is worn by most of the crowd now, Lederhosen and Dirndl, which is a revival rather than an unbroken custom.
  • The Sunday after the opening is the costume and riflemen's parade through the city, nine thousand strong.

Watch

Videos from YouTube, each credited to its channel. Tap one to play it here, or open it on YouTube.

Celebrations
O'zapft is: the first barrelThe mayor taps it at noon on the opening Saturday, and nothing is served before he does.Courtesy of Associated Press · Watch on YouTube
Processions and parades
The brewery horses arriveThe drays bringing the barrels onto the Theresienwiese on the opening morning, which is how the festival starts moving.Courtesy of Nico World Adventure · Watch on YouTube
Rituals and customs
Getting a tableBeer comes only in the litre Maß and only sitting down, so the tent table is the whole logistical problem of the festival.Courtesy of Our Great America🗽 · Watch on YouTube

More world days

Labour DayRosenmontag (Carnival Monday)Mid-Autumn FestivalOnam (Thiruvonam)New Year's EveNew Year's DayObonSt Nicholas' Day

The Phala almanac shows this day where it falls for your own city — sunrise, tithi and all five limbs, anywhere on earth. See how the almanac works →