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Asking for information about foreign customs.

Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany (also known as October Festival)

Munich is rich in beer, and people used to call it the beer capital. For Munich people, they must not drink beer for a day, and the per capita drinking amount is the highest in the world. Oktoberfest is a traditional folk festival in Munich. In German, the original meaning of this festival is "October Festival", and the festival activities are not just beer. Perhaps Munich's beer is so famous that this festival is called Oktoberfest by outsiders. Munich people may only know that there is October Festival, but they don't know that there is Oktoberfest. However, beer is indeed the protagonist of this festival at present.

Every year on the penultimate Saturday in September, the official opening ceremony of Oktoberfest is held in Wesson Square. There are some tents selling wine in the square. At noon 12, the mayor of Munich opened the first barrel of beer and the Oktoberfest officially began. All the participants were allowed to start cheering and drinking. In order to watch the opening ceremony, you usually arrive around 9 am to get a good seat. Oktoberfest is very large, not limited to this square, but almost swept the whole city. There are liquor sellers everywhere. From morning till night, people sit at the wine table and drink, or take beer glasses and pour into the streets. Let's shout "cheers" together, regardless of gender or age. During the festival, there are carnival parades, horse races, street drama performances, folk songs performances and concerts. In recent years, domestic and foreign tourists have also poured in, mostly beer lovers. The local people in Munich are not so conspicuous. They may all sell wine. The price of beer at Oktoberfest is slightly higher than usual, and the price of beer per liter is 6 to 7 euros. Oktoberfest lasts 16 days and ends on the first Sunday of 10.

The first Oktoberfest in history was held in 18 10 to celebrate the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese. The celebration began on 10/2 and ended with a horse race on 10/7. In the next few years, celebrations were held repeatedly. Later, the celebration time was extended and the start time was advanced to September, because the weather was better at that time. The temperature is suitable during the day, and visitors can play in squares, tents, gardens and streets at night without feeling cold. "October Festival" began in September, and the celebration square of "October Festival" was named after the crown princess: Theresienwiese.

Oktoberfest in Munich is a big meal. Take a certain year as an example: 5 million participants, 5 million liters of beer, 600,000 roast chickens, 800,000 pairs of sausages and 250,000 beer cups, most of which were taken away as "souvenirs".

New year customs in European countries

Most countries and regions in the world adopt the Gregorian calendar, and set 65438+ 10/month 1 as the beginning of the new year, which is called New Year's Day. In different countries and different periods, the custom of celebrating the New Year is different. However, from a big perspective, the spirit of welcoming the new is the same. Everything that is not needed, that wants to be abandoned and that wants to get rid of is called old. What we yearn for, hope for and look forward to is called new. At the beginning of the new year, everyone wants to have a good start. Throughout Europe, although the New Year is not as grand as Christmas, various celebrations still have their own characteristics and unique styles.

Britain: On New Year's Eve, English people must have wine in the bottle and meat in the cupboard. They think that if there is no wine and meat left, they will be poor in the coming year. In addition, the custom of "digging wells" in the New Year is also very popular in Britain. People strive to be the first person to draw water, thinking that the first person to draw water is a happy person, and the water obtained from it is auspicious.

France: The French believe that the weather on New Year's Day heralds a new year: the year when the east wind blows and the fruit is harvested; The harvest year of west wind, fishing and milking; A warm year with a southerly wind; When the north wind blows, it is a poor harvest year.

Spain: On New Year's Day, Spanish parents are particularly "cordial". They will meet all the requirements of their children, and think that children's swearing, fighting and crying are ominous. At the same time, most Spaniards will carry a gold coin or copper coin with them for good luck.

Belgium: The first thing the Belgians should do in the early morning of New Year's Day is to pay New Year greetings to the livestock, go to the cows, sheep, pets, cats and dogs and solemnly greet them: Happy New Year!

Germany: Just before midnight on New Year's Eve, Germans climbed into chairs. As soon as the bell rang, they jumped up from their chairs and threw a heavy object behind the back of the chair to show that they would throw away evil and enter the new year. In addition, they will put some fish scales in their wallets, because fish scales are the mascots of the new year, which indicates that financial resources are rolling in.

Switzerland: Swiss people think snow is auspicious. During the Spring Festival, they take some snow from outside, melt it into water, sprinkle it on the ground to suppress dust, and then clean it.

Italy: Italians throw things they don't need at home into the yard or simply throw them into the wild on New Year's Eve. It is said that this will bring happiness to their families in the new year. In addition, people always tell children fairy tales about banshees, saying that banshees sneak into the house from the chimney and bring some gifts to the children and put them in their shoes.

Sweden: On the morning of New Year's Day, the youngest woman in the family put on a plain white skirt, tied a red ribbon around her waist, and wore a crown to light small candles, responsible for distributing food. Many people sell deer made of grass along the street. The deer is full of firecrackers and fireworks. Swedes like to buy this kind of deer as a foil.

Finland: Girls always throw their shoes out on New Year's Eve. If the toe of the shoe points to the door when it falls, it indicates that they will get married in the new year.

Turkey: On New Year's Eve, Turks, men, women and children should take a good bath and put on new clothes. In some parts of Turkey, it is a custom to spend the night on New Year's Eve. People have lunch on New Year's Eve, clean up their homes and take their children to relatives and friends for the night.

I found it on this website, and there are many more. You can go and have a look. As for English, I'm sorry there's nothing I can do. I suggest you try a search engine, but I have tried it, and it's not easy (my English level is not high). You should get something. good luck

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