What is the history of Oktoberfest. Why do we celebrate it?

Question

What is the history of Oktoberfest. Why do we celebrate it?

Answer 1

I'm not sure of the history but I do know that for us, any excuse to party and drink allot of beer is a good excuse.

Answer 2

here is a link with a lot of informations. I tranlated it with google.

http://66.249.93.104/translate_c?hl=de&i...

Answer 3

Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, who was later crowned King Ludwig I, wanted his people to share in the celebration of his marriage to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810.

Ludwig organized a horse race and invited all the people of Munich. The royal party drew about 40,000 guests—a major rager, by ordinary standards, but only a small fraction of the 6.4 million people at Oktoberfest in 1997. A good time, and copious amounts of beer, were apparently had by all that first year. It was decided that the horse race would be held again in 1811, this time in conjunction with the state agricultural show.