Grab your lederhosen and a mug of root beer and come to BYU campus to kick off the German Oktoberfest.
Typically this time of year in Germany there would be a large celebration of the Oktoberfest but due to the global health crisis, it was canceled. Instead of going to Germany to celebrate, BYU brought Germany to the Joseph F. Smith Building.
The German Club hosted Oktoberfest Friday night to kick off the would-be celebrations of Oktoberfest.
BYU German students dressed in lederhosen and dirndls to celebrate.
“These are lederhosen. Each area in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland basically has their own style of lederhosen. These I bought in Graz in Austria so these are typisch steirische lederhosen,” BYU German Club member Kutter Hine said.
Oktoberfest goes back 200 years when the crown prince married his new bride and hosted a party over a week long. Oktoberfest has continued as a traditional festival for over two centuries in the month of October.
“The point of the German club is to bring together students from the BYU community that want to experience German, Austrian, Swiss, and Liechtenstein culture,” German Club Vice President Jackson Okey said.
The German Club’s goal is to excite students about the German culture and bring depth to their world through cultural exposure.
“To be able to step into a different culture and be invited in and to be able to share with others, kind of gives us a whole second life,” German linguistics professor Laura Smith said.
Although the students were thrilled to try traditional German food and dancing, their love for the German culture runs deeper than this one festival. You don’t have to be in Germany to feel the love of the country and the culture. The BYU German Club is making sure the culture is alive and well on campus.
