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While most Americans are familiar with Thanksgiving, a lesser-known tradition called “drinksgiving” has grown in popularity in recent years.
Also known as “Blackout Wednesday,” drinksgiving is celebrated the night before Thanksgiving, when many people flock to bars to blow off steam and reconnect with hometown friends ahead of the holiday weekend.
Last year’s drinksgiving appeared especially active, with on-premise alcohol sales spiking on Thanksgiving Eve, according to a 2024 report from data company BeerBoard.
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The company, which manages data on more than $1 billion in alcohol sales and tracks over 100,000 products, found that spirit sales increased 39.6% last year compared to Thanksgiving Eve 2023, with tequila driving the surge.
Packaged beers and ciders saw an 18% increase in sales, while wine sales rose 28.7% last year.
“It’s traditionally known as the busiest bar night of the year,” Vicki Parmelee, owner of Jumby Bay Island Grill in Jupiter, Florida, told Fox News Digital.
What’s driving the increase? Jonathan Alpert, a New York City-based psychotherapist, told Fox News Digital that Thanksgiving Eve often “blends nostalgia with emotional release.”
“People come home, fall back into familiar roles and reconnect with friends who knew them before adult pressures set in,” the expert said. “Alcohol becomes the socially accepted shortcut to feeling relaxed and bonded before the intensity of family gatherings the next day.”
Alpert added that going home can also “activate” an earlier version of oneself, especially when seeing old friends.
“Reconnecting restores a sense of identity and belonging,” he said. “The key is that alcohol often becomes the tool to access those feelings quickly, rather than letting them emerge naturally through real conversation.”
“A small amount of awareness can prevent a festive tradition from turning into an emotional hangover the next day.”
He advised bar patrons to decide how they want to feel the next morning before ordering multiple drinks.
“Set a limit, eat beforehand and alternate drinks with water,” Alpert recommended. “If the goal is connection, focus on that — i.e., ask questions, listen, have real conversations. When people shift the emphasis from drinking to reconnecting, they often leave the night feeling genuinely good instead of depleted.”
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He said drinkers should stay in touch with their emotions before they decide to drink.
“If it’s about celebration and reconnection, great. If it’s about avoiding stress, numbing discomfort or bracing for family dynamics, that’s worth noticing,” he said.
“A small amount of awareness can prevent a festive tradition from turning into an emotional hangover the next day.”
And not all the holiday drinking will take place on Thanksgiving Eve.
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Political division is a likely cause of much of the drinking on Thanksgiving, said Carole Lieberman, a psychiatrist based in Beverly Hills, California.
“Some families suffer a lot of pre-Thanksgiving anxiety about whether Uncle Joe or Aunt Sally is going to start ranting about this politician or that,” she told Fox News Digital.
Lieberman suggested that, for some families, heightened political division may make Thanksgiving gatherings more stressful.
But the doctor warned that excessive drinking is never a cure for social anxiety.
“Although it might be fun to drown some of this anxiety with alcohol on drinksgiving, [you] don’t want to be either hungover or still drunk during Thanksgiving Day, because this could make the arguments worse,” she noted.
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