Why do most people choose to greet the New Year, totally intoxicated?

Because it can be fun? Not everyone suffers the next day. That’s a pretty big generalization.

If it works every other day of the year … why not?

@dappled_leaves I did say most,because I know some people would reject it and say they do not..

Convention. New Year’s Eve is a party evening for many people. Personally, I didn’t even have one drink last night. I’m sure if we’d gone out, we’d have been surrounded by people drinking alcohol and quite possibly would have had a few drinks.

Regular sober life just isn’t as fun. Things aren’t as funny, moments aren’t as special etc.

I’m with @CWOTUS.

Most people drink during parties and celebrations. I don’t think the people home in their jammies are so worried about getting smashed.

I don’t drink either way, so none of that applies to me.

Even people who typically don’t drink might have some champagne I guess. Even if they don’t care to drink. For whatever reason, refusing champagne is like the biggest sin of all in drinking rituals. Like you are saying you don’t celebrate whatever is being celebrated. Whether it be New Years, a wedding, you name it. I still refuse it usually. I hate waste and I hate anyone pushing any alcohol. Offering fine, but pushing or being offended if someone doesn’t care to drink? They can go take a flying leap.

It’s just another excuse

I question your premise _ most people._

A lot of people drink on New Year’s, and some of them drink too much. But it isn’t most folks.

It is commonly known as Amateur Night, because people who have an occasional drink stay up later and continue drinking more than they usually would. People who would have two drinks and home by ten stay up and have a few more until midnight. Dinner is done by ten, yet they continue having a few drinks.

The reason so many drink when not eating a meal. They are not happy in their own mind so they need to improve it. They will deny it all day long, but if you have something that runs perfectly why would you do things to it to take way the effectiveness, or performance of it? They get hammered because they lack the imagination to figure out how to carry into the New Year sober.

Good grief. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a drink. What is with all this apologetic and accusatory language?

If my answer came across as though I think there is something wrong with having a few on New Years then I didn’t write it well. I have no problem with.

@dappled_leaves Good grief. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a drink
Having a beer on a hot day watching the game with your dogs or burgers, or a modest glass or two of wine with your meal is fine. Drinking to diminish your mental faculties is another story.

@Hypocrisy_Central It depends. My opinion is drinking daily is bad. You didn’t specifically say drinking daily, but I feel a couple if beers every night or a glass if wine with dinner every night more often than not is a problem too. Get drunk a few nights a year doesn’t seem like a big deal because there is no demonstration of it being habitual or addictive behavior.

New year eve without alcohol is rather like a truck without a trailer, you can get by, but you’re certainly not pulling your weight.
Not entirely sure the analogy works, but the truck thing grabbed me & I went with it regardless :)

The memories that stick with us are the memories of the exceptional and unusual things we do.

It’s an easy day to get everyone together, when there are less reasons not to, and make some memories. Drinking is part of it for some, but mostly it’s just letting go of todo lists, commitments, and buttoned up control for a little while.

Exceptional nights are more rare and valuable than comfortable mornings for a lot of people.

New year eve without alcohol is rather like a truck without a trailer, you can get by, but you’re certainly not pulling your weight.
Doing New Year (or anything else with alcohol as the main premise) is like wheeling a Lamborghini off the car carrier, replacing the Pirelli tires with bald junk, putting watered down gas in the tank, replacing the Nippondenso spark plugs with fouled out ones from the junk yard, then smearing Vaseline over the windshield and expecting to take a windy mountain road at speed under full control. You might make it down without crashing but it will be far more work and take more time than it should had you not tinkered with the machinery that worked to form when it came off the carrier.

@Hypocrisy_Central “Doing New Year (or anything else with alcohol as the main premise) is like wheeling a Lamborghini off the car carrier, replacing the Pirelli tires with bald junk, putting watered down gas in the tank, replacing the Nippondenso spark plugs with fouled out ones from the junk yard, then smearing Vaseline over the windshield and expecting to take a windy mountain road at speed under full control. ”

You know, it’s really not.

Hahahaha, lost in your own little world again eh?
I can take my drink without acting like a fucking idiot, as a responsible parent who has shared every new year eve with my kids since they were born, I get the balance of drunk but remaining in control, absolutely spot on.
Now, retreat back to insanity beach & dip your toes into the waters of reason.

Now, retreat back to insanity beach & dip your toes into the waters of reason.
Surely not for me because if there was such, I would be in those waters above my brow, unlike those up to there brow in hops and barley or other things ;-)

…& then…oh, never mind :D

It’s called fun. People, even those who don’t normally party and tie one on, want to celebrate the coming of a new year or the passing of the previous year. Some people take it too far. So what. As long as they’re friendly, happy and cause no trouble for others, who cares. Others choose not to drink or drink moderately. That’s cool too. It’s New Year’s Eve. Let’s not be wowsers and bag people having fun, even if accompanied by some grog.

I think I now know who @Hypocrisy_Central is, has to be Carrie’s mother!
You can, as usual, quote me on that.