Foreign Fridays Fact: Iceland

Submitted by Foreign Students on Fri 02/03/12

As part of Foreign Fridays, we explore a different country each week through its most unusual, amusing and odd facts. If you want your country to appear, then simply get in contact with us either in the comments below or through Facebook or Twitter.

This week it is the turn of the Iceland:

On 1st March, Iceland celebrates Beer Day in celebration
of the end of beer prohibition in 1989.

When you think of prohibition, you probably think of the speakeasies and and gangsters of 1920's America. However, the US wasn't the only place that introduced prohibition near the start of the 20th century. In Iceland in 1915 all alcohol was made illegal after the population voted in a referendum.

So far, so normal. The unusual bit came in 1935 when the prohibition on spirits was lifted, but it remained on beers. This was because the temperance lobby argued that because beer was cheaper than spirits at the time, it would have lead to more depravity. This strange situation amazingly lasted for over 50 years, until the ban on beer was finally lifted on 1st March 1989. Ever since then, every year on that date, Icelanders celebrate Beer Day.

Sound like the best celebration you can imagine? Well, it does sound fun. Basically, it is an excuse for most of the population to go on a massive bender. Huge bar crawls are organised around towns and cities, with everyone celebrating their right to drink beer (in copious amounts).

You can see all the previous Foreign Friday blog posts here and the main Foreign Fridays page here.