I Just Learned Why People Celebrate Oktoberfest, And It's Surprisingly Royal

<div><img src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/68d3c9731400001dde5c5d98.jpeg?ops=scalefit_630_noupscale" alt="A waitress at Oktoberfest" data-caption="A waitress at Oktoberfest" data-credit-link-back="" data-credit="via Associated Press" />A waitress at Oktoberfest</div><div class="content-list-component text"><p>Like a lot of non-Germans, I have a pretty hazy idea of Oktoberfest ― I’m vaguely aware it has something to do with beer and pretzels, and it seems to involve a lot of plaits. </p><p>But the festival, <a href="https://www.oktoberfest.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">which is taking place</a> from September 20 to October 5 this year, has a much deeper history than I realised. </p><p>The event, it turns out, actually started off with a royal wedding, a horse race, some poems, and a fairground. </p><p>And, the <a href="https://stadt.muenchen.de/dam/jcr:acc9595b-4675-471e-bfba-35cf2dd7569a/oktoberfest-munich-history.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">City of Munich Department of Labour and Economic Development (CMDLED)</a> explained, it wasn’t originally called Oktoberfest. </p><h2><strong>Why did Oktoberfest begin?</strong></h2><p>The holiday actually began in Bavaria, a state in the south-east of Germany.</p><p>Bavaria used to be a sovereign kingdom. Four years after it became a kingdom (in 1810) CMDLED said, Bavaria’s Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. </p><p>The wedding celebrations lasted five days, and took place with a “folk fair” that ended on the 17th of October. </p><p>To conclude the celebrations, residents of Baravia’s capital, Munich, held a horse race outside of the city’s gates. </p><p>During