Feeling overwhlemed by all the holiday hullaballoo? You're in luck! Thanks to a massive 2-page color ad for Dewar's scotch in today's WaPo, I'm reminded that today is Repeal Day--the anniversary of the passage of the 21st Amendment, repealing Prohibition, that most ill-conceived of efforts to keep Americans on the straight and narrow. Forget jingle bells, electric menorahs and the blood-sport of shopping. To observe Repeal Day, all you have to do is share a drink with someone you love some time today. As this web site so inspiringly puts it:
There are no outfits to buy, costumes to rent, rivers to dye green. Simply celebrate the day by stopping by your local bar, tavern, saloon, winery, distillery, or brewhouse and having a drink. Pick up a six-pack on your way home from work. Split a bottle of wine with a loved one. Buy a shot for a stranger. Just do it because you can.
For the more devout, Dewar's notes that the "classic observance" of the tradition begins at 9 p.m. (the 21st hour), and revelers are encouraged to don period garb (stockings with garter belts and flapper frocks for the ladies, hats of various styles--fedora, derby, Homburg, etc.--for the gents.
But, honestly, who has time for all that? I say grab a six pack with the boys at lunchtime and spend the rest of the afternoon watching snippets from your favorite prohibition-themed gangster movie on YouTube. If the boss complains, tell him it's your constitutional right.
--Michelle Cottle