Erntedankfest: Taking a Look at Germany’s Harvest Festival Celebration

As Volkswagen is a German vehicle, we would like to talk about a holiday similar to Thanksgiving that people celebrate in Germany, known as Erntedankfest. It is a harvest festival celebration that takes place on the first Sunday in October.

Background

While Thanksgiving in America is a celebration of food and family get-togethers, Erntedankfest is a religious celebration centered around church services. Ertedankfest has a long tradition, particularly in rural areas, and is translated as “thanks for the harvest festival.” It is a religious holiday where people celebrate and give thanks to the gods for a successful year of harvest, which means another year without starvation. 

Erntedankfest Traditions

According to harvestfestivals.net, German harvest festivals are celebrated in churches, marketplaces, homes, and dance halls. Church altars are decorated with wreaths, flowers, and fruit, and Blasmusik (music played with brass/wind instruments) is played during the festivities. Religious holiday traditions are a part of the local culture and are enjoyed by the whole community. 

Erntedankfest Foods

Erntedankfest is not a big day of family get-togethers and feasting, but there are some turkey substitutes, usually so-called Masthühnchen, or chickens bred to be fattened up for more meat. There is no specific food that is eaten during Erntedankfest; different families have different menus depending on what they want to eat. 

We hope you learned something new about the German “Thanksgiving.” Do you have any other insights about this holiday? Comment below and share it with us. We at Larry H. Miller Volkswagen Tucson wish you a very happy Thanksgiving and as always are here for any of your automotive needs. Let us know if you are traveling for the holidays and need some service on your vehicle. We are always here to help!

Why You Should Be Thankful for Your 2017 Golf Alltrack

The holiday season is a time to celebrate and give thanks to everything we have in life. This includes family, friends, and everything we’ve worked so hard for. This holiday, make a purchase you will always be thankful for. You’ll love your future Golf Alltrack for the following reasons:

·      First off, you’ll love that this Volkswagen comes equipped with 4MOTION® all-wheel drive. 4MOTION® helps provide reliable traction and optimum directional stability. This all-wheel drive system can automatically adapt to varying road conditions with ideal power delivery­—all without having to do anything but focus on the adventure ahead.

·      With a turbocharged 1.8 TSI® engine, you’ll love the fast and fun performance. This awesome engine proves that the Golf Alltrack is geared up for an adventure like no other.

·      The Golf Alltrack is up-to-date with vehicle technology. The VW Car-Net® App-Connect lets you connect to select apps from your compatible smartphone right on the dash. You can also enjoy a host of features like enhanced navigation with traffic, sports scores, weather information, and more.

·      The VW Car-Net® Security & Service feature is something you’ll instantly love. With this convenient service, you can check the status of your car from afar. You can also locate your last parked location (for those of us who always forget where we parked), check to see if you left your doors unlocked and lock them if they were, and even give you automatic crash notifications if someone tries to pull a hit and run.

·      Driver Assistance features are designed to help keep you out of trouble and safe on the road. Front Assist knows when to stop your vehicle before you do. With the Park Assist feature, you can judge if a parking spot is big enough and it can help you steer your Golf Alltrack into a proper space. With Lane Assist, the system’s camera can recognize visible lane markings by using a special algorithm that can calculate the risk of the car leaving the lane, then countersteer the vehicle.

With great performance and awesome features, the 2017 Golf Alltrack is an amazing vehicle to be thankful for. It’s a friend who will always be there for you, always make you feel good, and always look great next to you. So, check out the 2017 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack at Larry H. Miller Volkswagen Tucson and make the purchase you’ll always be thankful for.