What is Dry January?

1. Where does Dry January come from?
2. What are the reasons for participating in Dry January?
3. Does participating in Dry January mean that you have to forgo pleasure?

The new year is just around the corner and before that time comes, there will be a lot of drinking! December is a very alcoholic month for most of us: mulled wine during Advent, beer, wine and sparkling wine during the Christmas holidays and cocktails on New Year's Eve! An alcohol-free month would be appropriate, wouldn't it? 

How fitting that December marks the beginning of a new year and  thus new resolutions  come. The New Year's resolution to drink less alcohol is nothing new. Dry January is about not drinking alcohol for a month.

Where does Dry January come from?

The idea of ​​abstaining from alcohol has been around for a long time: in the 1940s, the Finnish population was encouraged by their government to abstain from alcohol altogether at the beginning of the New Year. 

Dry January, as we know it today, comes from Great Britain. There, people have been calling for a dry January since 2013. At that time, 4,000 Britons tried to abstain from alcohol for a month. Today, it is a worldwide  movement and according to Yougov  has  In 2020, one in five Americans took part in Dry January.

There is a little more to the British call for Dry January. In  Great Britain  Alcohol is the most common cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 49! But Germany is not far behind, as it is a high-consumption country, with everyone aged 15 and over drinking an average of 10.9 litres of alcohol per year.

Dry January draws attention to drinking consciously and provides food for thought for the rest of the year! It helps to rethink and redefine your own relationship with alcohol. Others see Dry January as a test of willpower!

What positive  What benefits can you see from a Dry January for your well-being? Read our blog post here !