Germany
OKTOBERFEST
Background
Starting on October 12, 1810 Oktoberfest has been celebrated in Germany. This tradition came about because of the festive event involving the Prince of Bavaria, who later became King Louis I, marrying Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. Back then, the festival of Oktoberfest would involve activities such as agricultural fairs and horse races. By the late 20th century, these activities changed a little bit. Although during the two week period of Octoberfest people would attend bars more than usual to drink beer in particular, during this lengthy festival people would go to bars and booths much more for beer. The mayor of the city in Germany would tap the first beer to begin the celebration, and then everybody else, dressed in folk costumes, would drink about 1,430,000 gallons (65,000 hectolitres) of beer! This specific festivity, along with games, amusement rides, and dancing, attracts about six million people a year, including tourists.