While we often think of Oktoberfest as a German tradition, it actually has Bavarian roots. Bavaria joined the German Empire in 1871 and is now the southern most state of Germany. Bavaria's capital is Munich.

Oktoberfest was established in 1810 when Crown Prince Ludwig I, later the King of Bavaria invited the citizens of Munich to celebrate his wedding to Princess Theresia of Saxony-Hildburghausen. It became a celebration for all of Bavaria and included beer, food, music and dancing.

The festival became a yearly event to celebrate royal couple's anniversary. Later, two fathers of Munich took over the management of the Oktoberfest celebration. It was decided that the festival should be held every year and it should be both longer and have its start date pushed backward since Bavaria often enjoys pleasant weather in September.

Today, six million people attend Oktoberfest, making it the largest festival in the world. It is still held on the fields where the prince and princess were married, referred to by local residents as the Wiesn. Hence, if a local resident says, "Welcome to the Wiesn" it means "Welcome to the Oktoberfest".

More information about Oktoberfest can be found here.

Now that you know more about the holiday and can relay it to your guests, make them feel welcome at your Oktoberfest with these words:

Please: Bitte
Of course: Natürlich
Thank you very much: Danke (schön) / (Vielen Dank)
Enjoy the meal! : Guten Appetit!
Good day: Guten Tag
Have a good holiday!: Schöne Ferien!
Hello: Hallo
Good bye: Auf Wiedersehen

MSN Shopping Suggestions:
Beer glasses
Books on German cuisine

Let us know if your Oktoberfest was a hit. Share your experiences, tips, suggestions and photos and get great advice from other A Bigger View fans in our Your Big Life section. Read Sissy's Tips for more advice on celebrating Oktoberfest.

Don't forget to tell your guests "Guten Appetit" with Jake Wolf's Dampfnudeln recipe:
Dampfnudeln (translates to steamed dumplings)

Yeast Dough:
1 pound of all purpose flour
8 ounces of fresh yeast
Pinch of sugar
1/3 cup of warm milk
2 eggs
3 ounces of soften butter
3 ounces of sugar
1/2 lemon, zested

For cooking:
1 1/2 ounces of butter
3 tablespoons of sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup of milk
Fresh berries
Vanilla sauce

Procedure:
Mix yeast, pinch of sugar, enough warm milk and flour to proof the yeast. The consistency should be of sticky little ball of batter.

Add the rest of the flour to another mixing bowl and hollow out the center. Add your yeast proof to the center of the hollow and let proof or rise for ten minutes.

Add all of the other ingredients and knead until smooth. Let rise 10 minutes.

Roll out dough about thumb thickness.
Cut out with glass or roll into balls.
Let rise 10 minutes.

For cooking-steaming:

In a nonstick pan or baking dish with lid, heat milk, sugar, salt and butter for cooking. Fill the pan with dampfnudeln so they are touching each other. Seal with lid. If steam is escaping, add dough to plug the holes.

Cook over medium heat on the stovetop for about 20 minutes or until they start singing. That is the remaining liquid cooking out. Cook for five more minutes so they get crusty on the bottom.

Serve with warm vanilla sauce and berries.
Guten Apetit!

 

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