Photo by Chakrapong Worathat ()
Frankfurt’s spring Dippemess festival will be featured in next month’s “What’s Up?” magazine, which was written and went to press long before mass cancelations started. Printing a monthly magazine is a long and tedious process, one we take great pride in, but it’s also done months in advance for obvious reasons.
I chose to write about Frankfurt Dippemess because while Germans are well aware of this long-running festival, many Americans, especially if you’re fairly new here are not. Not to mention, it is an incredible festival and Dippemess is a really fun word to say.
While the rest of the world may view this as a hit on the German economy, with millions of euros lost in tourism, it is such a greater hit than that. It’s a hit to German culture. This is Dippemess’ 675th anniversary. Just to give you perspective, Oktoberfest is celebrating its 187th year.
Dippemess was the spring festival taking the longest to cancel and I could tell the city was reeling with the decision. It took 674 years to get to this point and the city had a number of huge celebratory events planned. Frankfurt eventually made the right decision to cancel, as this festival brings in 1.2 million visitors. It is Hesse’s pride and joy.
Dippemess isn’t the only festival that’s had to shutter, though it by far is the largest and likely the one that has hurt the most. If I could give you any empathetic comparison, it would be like the United States canceling massive Independence Day celebrations. It would really knock the wind out of you.
Proof introverts can make new friends at festivals | Oktoberfest | Photo by Amanda Palumbo
Festivals are ingrained in German culture as much as beer, sausages and Christmas markets. If you’ve been here a while, you know Germans in everyday life aren’t one for small talk or pleasantries but when you leave a festival, you will no doubt have 10 new genuine best friends for life. Thanks to festivals’ long wooden tables, you’re forced to eat, drink and cheer with strangers from all around the world, yelling, “Prost!” in unison and in every accent imaginable. This is German culture at its very core. But, Germans also understand the need to take care of their own, especially its senior citizens and that’s why these festivals closed down with little whining from its public.
The silver lining in all of this is Dippemess returns in the fall. If we’re all out of this mess unscathed, I urge you to track down a Dirndl or Lederhosen, head to Frankfurt and order one of those giant beer steins filled with Frankfurters. Support your host country in their time of need, make new friends, raise your beer and shout, “Prost!” as loud as you can.
