New Traditions Built On Old Ones

As I nuzzle into my chair, and my fingers tap my keys... my mind begins to wander on all the things we shall celebrate this month. Oktoberfest, Halloween... FALL!

As I begin to brag about my love for both, I am stumped on the notion of... do we really know what we are celebrating, and are we celebrating these traditions correctly? Is this an old tradition, or new?

I hit it with the ol' search to rally my mind.

Oktoberfest according to the internets-

In 1810, Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Munich held a huge public celebration that ended with a horse race on October 17. The event was popular enough that they decided to do it again the following year. In 1811, an agricultural festival was added, and over the years it evolved into the massive festival we know today.

Oktoberfest doesn't actually start in October anymore either. Munich moved the festival into September in 1872 to take advantage of better weather, and the tradition stuck. Which is ironically why we hold ours in October, because it is usually better weather.

So technically, when we're all standing around in lederhosen and dirndls drinking a Märzen beer… we're celebrating a royal wedding from 1810 that eventually became a giant public festival.

But... who doesn't love celebrating love over a beer!

And Halloween... even more complicated. Halloween traces back to Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest and the transition into the darker half of the year. The Library of Congress describes it as a pre-Christian Celtic festival that eventually mingled with Christian observances.

The night before All Saints' Day became All Hallows' Eve, eventually shortened to Halloween. Costumes, bonfires and disguises were connected to beliefs about spirits and the boundary between the living and dead.

And trick-or-treating? That's an evolution too. Traditions involving going door-to-door for food or treats existed in various forms long before the modern American version. The familiar American trick-or-treat tradition really took off in the 20th century.

Which means... We went from marking the end of harvest season and contemplating the boundary between life and death to dressing our children like Elsa and making them ask strangers for miniature Snickers.

That's quite the evolution.  

But... that's what traditions do. They evolve. 

It's a new tradition built on an old one. Just like every year, we try and take our events and evolve them to something more. We try not to take away the favorites, but come up with something creative and new to keep you on your toes.

Hence, the Best Stein Awards, that are NEW this year. 

In this day and age, I think people are always looking for the new, but it would be a shame to leave out where we came from... so here's to keeping a little tradition, and to creating new ones. 

Until Next Time,

The Beer Philosopher