Christmas 2008

Christmas wine

Why is it, when we talk about having Christmas celebrations, we immediately assume we are going to drink enormous quantities of alcohol?

Of course, I am quite partial to a small drink myself or even a big one or even several, so I don’t talk as a Puritan but rather from the standpoint of a philosopher. I question why we do it because it doesn’t seem to make sense.

Whether it is a Christmas celebration, a birthday celebration or just a good old-fashioned get-together with some friends, it is rare that alcohol isn’t included on the agenda - probably a lot of it.

We drink alcohol at those moments in our lives which are the most important, when we are with our friends and family or when we have something to celebrate. Yet the doctors tell us that alcohol is a poison. It irritates the stomach, destroys the liver and debilitates our whole body. This is not just a theory because I’m sure that most of us have woken up with a hangover the following day at least occasionally in our lives.

So what is the alternative? Do we actually have a choice bearing in mind the strength of media advertising for alcoholic drinks? Certainly, peer pressure to drink alcohol is probably as strong as the peer pressure there used to be to smoke cigarettes, now generally accepted as being completely antisocial.

In seeking an alternative, perhaps we need to look to positive rather than negative actions. We need to identify alternative ways of celebrating an event that do not involve the consumption of alcohol but which are still fun.

What about the idea of a celebratory countryside walk on one’s birthday or at Christmas? It gets everybody outside in the fresh air. It involves exercising the body which reduces feelings of stress and it enables people to mingle socially with others at different stages in the event, just like a party.

What sort of alternative celebrations to alcoholic celebrations would you like to see? I would love to know. Please do comment below.

Bye for now

Rob

Rob Hopcott On-line author