Ein Prosit! Ein Prosit! Gemütlichkeit! The anthem of Oktoberfest rang out loud and proud over the hall floor at Concordia Club; German-speakers and tourists alike, singing along. It’s a song that celebrates a good time with friends, making new acquaintances, and, obliquely, beer. Much like the Swedish word “hygge” which has no real translation to English because it just IS, Gemütlichkeit has no real English equivalent. It is, in a nutshell, the spirit of friendliness and a good time.
The week-long Oktoberfest celebrations here in Kitchener-Waterloo have less to do with traditional German roots than you might imagine, but the spirit of Gemütlichkeit is very much alive and thriving. Then again, even the original Oktoberfest in Munich is less in touch with its own roots than you might imagine, so who’s to judge. The point of Oktoberfest is not to maintain Bavarian culture for future generations; what we’re preserving is a Disneyfied stereotype, albeit a fun one. The point of Oktoberfest is to go out, dance, and have fun with a lot of friendly strangers – though the heavy security presence may have belied the friendliness somewhat.
The history of Kitchener’s celebrations goes back 50 years to 1969 when a group of locals decided to host their own Oktoberfest in celebration of the rich German heritage in the region. All they had was $200 and a vote of confidence from city council, but they pulled off a fun event that kept people coming back year after year. My own grandmother went many times and I have the pictures of dirndles to prove it! The Oktoberfest in this city of 242,000 now draws 700,000 visitors each year!
The Festhalls are usually hot and crowded, probably to prompt you to get more bier… And they have German beers on tap if you want authenticity. Then there are the snacks, the pretzels and bratwurst with sauerkraut, tasty and also good to soak up some of that beer. But my favourite part is the dancefloor! There’s always a live band who are, as one person put it, “really good at hyping the crowd”. They play polkas and rock music and the traditional Oktoberfest dances… chicken dance, elephant dance, flying dance (fliegerlied)… You will work up a sweat on the dance floor, you will sing until you are hoarse, you will link arms with strangers, but most importantly, you will have so much fun. But you will need another beer after to get your voice back.
One fester told me that they were impressed at how well organized it was, another said they had a lot of fun playing games – games are not available at all the Festhalls – but over all I have the feeling that people had a really good time. I know I did.
I think the spirit of Gemütlichkeit can sometimes be lacking in the lives of many students – you’re not having fun in university? Taking the opportunity to get out and forcing good times on yourself can be a healthy thing to do. A good chunk of Oktoberfest lore is the drinking, but when you’re dancing “mit deine Hände hoch” it doesn’t really matter whether you’re drinking or not. Oktoberfest is a good reminder to relax a little because with good friends and good music, things can’t be too bad.
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