International Hangover Day

If on December 31st the whole world celebrates the New Year, then the next morning the whole world suffers from a hangover. It is not surprising that January 1 became the international hangover day, when thousands of martyrs, like tired travelers in a desert scorched by the scorching sun, dream of a sip of water. December 31st marks the end of New Year's preparations. Companies organize corporate parties, friends gather in restaurants and clubs, and homebodies throw parties in a narrow family circle. New Year is a holiday that evokes awe not only among young children who eagerly await the visit of Grandfather Frost with a bag of gifts. The atmosphere of the main winter celebration easily captivates adults, who secretly begin to believe in miracles. The smell of tangerine combined with the tart notes of pine needles brings back warm memories from childhood. The festive table on this day is decorated with traditional Olivier, which has long become an unspoken symbol of the New Year. Between the plates of cold cuts, which are arranged in fancy compositions, a herring shyly hides under a warm beet coat. Standing apart on the festive table as the main delicacy are dishes with an exquisite delicacy - sandwiches with red caviar and fish. And what would New Year be without aspic and potatoes with meat, but in addition to gastronomic abundance, orderly rows of bottles with strong drinks adorn the tablecloth - champagne, wine, liqueurs, cognac. On New Year's Day, those celebrating do not deny themselves the pleasure of trying a couple of glasses of strong alcohol, but not everyone can stop on time, so in the morning there comes a time of reckoning for the violent libations of the day before. Nausea, dizziness, weakness, ringing in the ears, dry mouth - these are just a few of the symptoms of a hangover, which sometimes torments even after one glass of wine. The British were the first to propose the idea of ​​celebrating such an extraordinary holiday. The prim inhabitants of Foggy Albion know a lot about drinking, so they are well acquainted with the consequences of libations. The initiator of adding hangover day to the calendar was the British company Bayer HealthCare. In our country, few are familiar with the name of this brand, but almost everyone has heard about its main product - the hangover remedy Alka-Seltzer. The company initially proposed celebrating this holiday on February 21, 2001, to coincide with the anniversary of Alka-Seltzer, which then turned exactly 70 years old. Bayer HealthCare has published a number of useful tips for dealing with hangovers. However, marketers soon realized their mistake. Why create a new holiday on a product's anniversary when we already have a day set aside for it? Now all lovers of strong drinks can have a good drink the day before, so that on January 1 they will definitely have something to fight with. Each body reacts to alcohol in its own way, so a hangover can be accompanied by different symptoms. Bayer HealthCare recommends drinking, but in moderation. This advice did not reveal anything new, but the company’s specialists also gave a couple of unexpected recommendations. So, for example, it is better to eat every glass with plenty of fatty foods, which are usually in abundance on the New Year's table. The load on the liver will, of course, increase, but this will slow down the absorption of alcohol into the blood. Before going to bed, it is advisable to drink a couple of glasses of cold water. Ethanol dehydrates the body, which is why you are so thirsty in the morning after drinking. A glass of water will help at least partially avoid the unpleasant feeling of dry mouth. You can also treat yourself to unusual cocktails if your hands can still hold a shaker. The British recommend trying exotic drinks with honey, mint and onions, garlic and cucumber. You can also drink a glass of natural yogurt, but in our country, cucumber pickle still ranks first in terms of effectiveness.