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Short Stories for Teachers

Oktoberfest Oktrivia
By:Deanna Mascle

1. Which city is the birthplace of Oktoberfest?
A. Munich
B. Berlin
C. Dublin
D. Cincinnati

A. Munich
QQ: Oktoberfest is an institution whose origins are unique to Munich. It is not celebrated elsewhere in Germany or even Bavaria.

2. The first Oktoberfest evolved from what event?
A. A funeral
B. A peace treaty
C. A wedding
D. A christening

C. A wedding
QQ: Oktoberfest began in 1810 as the wedding reception of Bavaria's Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (later to be King Ludwig I) to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen and has evolved into an annual celebration of lager and lederhosen observed worldwide.

3. What has always been the site for the traditional Oktoberfest celebration?
A. Therese's Meadow
B. Munich Beer Garden
C. Beer Street in Munich
D. Munich's Beer Boulevard

A. Therese's Meadow
QQ: The wedding took place at what came to be called the Theresienwiese (Therese's Meadow), and this remains the site for the Oktoberfest.

4. To date, Munich has had to cancel 24 Oktoberfests. What is NOT a reason for cancellation?
A. World War I
B. Cholera epidemic
C. Black plague
D. World War II

C. Black plague
QQ: To date, 169 have been held on the grounds (24 have had to be canceled because of the impact of wars and of the cholera epidemics in the mid- nineteenth century).

5. Munich celebrates its Spring Strong Beer festival every March as a prelude to the so-called beer garden season, a series of outdoor events culminating with the city's renowned Oktoberfest. What reason was the original "Strong Beer" brewed?
A. As a preparation for Lent
B. As a celebration of Spring
C. To pay taxes
D. To avoid taxes

A. As a preparation for Lent
QQ: In spring, the monks brewed a stronger-than-usual beer for consumption before Lent, to ward off possible emaciation during the period of fasting. The strong beer festival grew out of these origins.

6. Why is October a significant month in the beer brewing year?
A. Because Saint Octavius is also the patron saint of beer
B. It marks the beginning of the winter brewing season
C. It is the last good date to have a great outdoor party
D. It marks the end of the summer brewing season

B. It marks the beginning of the winter brewing season
QQ: Long before modern chemistry and refrigeration made brewing a year-round industry, the last safe brewing month was March. Though early brewers hadn't identified the microscopic culprits, they knew that summer's warm weather encouraged spoiled beer. So the last batch was stored, or lagered, in the caves around Munich. They worked on that through the summer and when October's cool weather allowed brewing again, "they had a big blowout" to finish off whatever March beer was left. The blowout became an agricultural fair, which eventually coincided with the commemoration of Ludwig I's marriage to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen and today’s Oktoberfest.

7. Although perhaps best-known for giving us Oktoberfest, Ludwig I also left this legacy?
A. Made Munich Germany’s richest museum center
B. Legalization of beer gardens
C. Built many of Munich’s grandest sights
D. All of the above

D. All of the above
QQ: Ludwig I is by far the most significant of Bavaria's monarchs. He aspired to elevate the city into a great artistic, scientific, and cultural center and is the city's great builder. Many of Munich's grandest sights can be attributed to his rule, notably his palace the Residenz (residence), the galleries at the Nymphenburg summer palace, the art galleries of the Glyptothek and Pinakothek, and many more. It is his legacy that today gives Munich the reputation of being Germany's richest museum center. But it is his other legacies, the legalization of the beer gardens and the celebration of Oktoberfest, that perhaps most well-known. If his palaces and castles are the most extravagant expression of Bavarian heritage, beer is its most commonplace symbol. In Bavaria, beer rules.

8. In addition to a royal wedding, what event took place at the first Oktoberfest?
A. A horse race
B. A Polka dance off
C. Beer barrel races
D. The first funnels

A. A horse race
QQ: The first Oktoberfest consisted of a royal wedding and a horse race, not beer tents. Horse races in the presence of the Royal Family marked the close of the event that was celebrated as a festival for the whole of Bavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in the subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the Oktoberfest.

9. How is the Munich Oktoberfest known to locals?
A. the “Wiesn”
B. Always simply “Oktoberfest”
C. the Fall Beer Festival
D. Lederhosen Time

A. the “Wiesn”
QQ: The Munich Oktoberfest - known by the locals as the "Wiesn" – because at what came to be called the Theresienwiese (Therese's Meadow), and this remains the site for the Oktoberfest. The fields where the wedding took place have been named Theresienwiese ("Theresa's fields") in honor of the Crown Princess ever since, although the locals have since abbreviated the name simply to the "Wies'n".

10. When did the first beer tents and halls appear at Oktoberfest?
A. Never, Oktoberfest isn’t really about beer at all
B. The first year of course!
C. 1896 with the backing of the breweries
D. Not until after prohibition was repealed

C. 1896 with the backing of the breweries
QQ: In 1896 the beer stands were replaced by the first beer tents and halls set up by enterprising landlords with the backing of the breweries.

11. What is true of Oktoberfest?
A. Originated in Munich, it is now celebrated throughout Bavaria and Germany
B. Originated in Munich, it is not celebrated elsewhere in Bavaria and Germany
C. It is a celebration of All Saints Eve or Halloween
D. The consumption of beer is forbidden at Oktoberfest

B. Originated in Munich, it is not celebrated elsewhere in Bavaria and Germany
QQ: Even though Oktoberfest embodies the outsider's view of German popular culture. Oktoberfest is an institution whose origins are unique to Munich. It is not celebrated elsewhere in Germany or even Bavaria.

12. Munich has a full calendar of annual celebrations and dulten, which means fairs, which include the renowned Oktoberfest. What was the original meaning of the word “Dult”?
A. Drink up
B. Cheers
C. Church festival
D. Wedding feast

C. Church festival
QQ: Munich celebrates its Fruhjahrs Starkbier (Spring Strong Beer) festival every March. This is the first event in Munich's annual calendar of celebrations and Dulten (fairs). It also serves as a prelude to the so-called beer garden season, a series of outdoor events culminating with the city's renowned Oktoberfest. The original meaning of the word Dult was "church festival."

13. Many Americans speak some German every day without realizing it as so many German words have worked their way into our language. One common expression, used to follow a sneeze, is “Gesundheit.” What does it mean?
A. To your health
B. God bless you
C. Use a tissue
D. Beware the devil

A. To your health
QQ: Bet a lot of people went for “B”!

14. Some German words have become so commonly used in English that they are now considered part of the American language. Which of these is NOT an American word adopted from German?
A. Poltergeist
B. Noodle
C. Sauerkraut
D. Kindergarten
E. They are all German words
F. None of these are German words

E. They are all German words
QQ: You are a dummkopf if you guessed sauerkraut or kindergarten although poltergeist and noodle were a bit trickier!

15. Many Americans speak a little German every day without realizing it as so many German words have worked their way into our language. Some words are identical in German and American and other words have slightly changed. Which words are identical?
A. Mother
B. Uncle
C. Winter
D. Wind
E. A and B
F. C and D

F. C and D
QQ: Both winter and wind are identical in both German and English while these two have changed slightly from mutter to mother and onkel to uncle.

Deanna Mascle
http://officialtrivia.com/






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