What is Oktoberfest—and why is it actually in September?

Every year, millions of revelers descend on a tent-filled meadow in Munich to celebrate the love of long-ago Bavarian royals at a celebration known as Oktoberfest.

Just kidding: These days people flock to Munich's Oktoberfest with the hope of consuming liters upon liters of beer, indulging in German delicacies from bratwurst sausages to giant pretzels, and showing off their finest dirndls, traditional bodices for women, and lederhosen, traditional breeches for men. 

The annual event held in Germany is the largest folk festival in the world—and also the largest beer festival, with revelers consuming approximately six million liters of ale each year. Inside its tents, you can fill your stein with lager to your heart’s content, dance to German folk music, and even go on carnival rides. 

(A guide to Munich, Germany's boisterous beer capital.)

But there’s one odd thing about Oktoberfest: The 16-day festival actually mostly takes place in September. Why is that—and why do we celebrate Oktoberfest in the first place? Here’s what to know.

When was the first Oktoberfest?

The original Oktoberfest was, in fact, held in October—on October 17, 1810, to be exact, in honor of the nuptials a few days earlier of Bavarian crown prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. Legend has it that a member of the national guard came up with the idea of a festival for the common people, but scholars have cast doubt on those claims.

(Life for this other Bavarian princess was no fairy tale.)

What we do know is that Bavaria at the time was a brand new kingdom: After years as an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, the German state had recently been elevated as a result of King Maximilian I’s alliance with Napoleon. In addition to celebrating his son’s marriage, the festival held in its capital city was thus also an opportunity to foster and showcase a newfound sense of national pride. 

The original Oktoberfest was a week of games that centered on a horse race, a particularly beloved tradition in Munich back then. Although most of the trappings of the modern Oktoberfest were not yet part of the event—beer concessions began in 1815—it was considered a rousing success. The meadow where it was held (and is still held today) has since been named "Theresienwiese" in honor of the bride.

How did Oktoberfest evolve?

Bavarians clamored for more. But without a royal wedding to foot the bill, someone else had to take over the event planning. The following year, the Bavarian Agricultural Association stepped in—a local power player at a time when agriculture ruled in Bavaria. In addition to races, they held cattle markets and displays of prize-winning animals akin to a modern state fair.

The city of Munich took over after 1819, however, and in the decades after that the modern Oktoberfest began to take shape with the addition of merry-go-rounds, ferris wheels, and chicken roasteries. While the official Oktoberfest is still held on the same field in Munich, there are now Oktoberfest events held throughout the country as a celebration of German heritage. 

(Can't get to Munich? Here are our top 10 other Oktoberfests.)

And how about the beer? It quickly became a quintessential part of the festivities. In 1835, historian Jeffrey Gaab writes that revelers consumed 250,000 liters of beer, and in 1895 breweries began to build temporary beer halls to accommodate visitors.

Why is Oktoberfest in September?

So why is Oktoberfest celebrated in September today? The answer is simple: weather.

As early as 1828, festivalgoers had begun to complain about Bavaria’s rainy October weather, writes Moses Wolff in his Oktoberfest guide Meet Me in Munich. They pushed to move the celebration to a more temperate time of year—mostly unsuccessfully, as the city didn’t want to disrupt harvest season. 

By the 1890s, however, city officials began to heed these demands by occasionally moving the date—and by 1905 it appears that the festival was officially set for the end of September. Today, it almost always ends the first Sunday of October.

How is Oktoberfest celebrated now?

Through the years, Oktoberfest has only been canceled 26 times, including for the Napoleonic wars in 1813, various cholera epidemics, both world wars, and most recently the COVID pandemic.

Today’s Oktoberfest looks quite a bit different from the early 19th century festivities. For one, horse races are no longer part of the event, except in anniversary years to honor its origins. The amount of beer consumed at Oktoberfest has also grown considerably alongside its attendance figures—from 1.5 million liters of beer in 1950 to four million liters in 1970 and then six million liters from the 1990s onward.

Oktoberfest is now a global phenomenon as well. Not only do visitors come to Munich from all over the world for a chance to drink beer in their traditional German costumes, but communities across the world now host their own Oktoberfest celebrations. They may not remember the Bavarian royals who inspired the event, but they certainly do toast to their health.