For many, Thanksgiving eve is a time of preparation and expectation for a joyous holiday. For others, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is a night when heavy drinking is highlighted and even encouraged. Blackout Wednesday earned its name from the “blacking out” many people experience due to excessive drunkenness. In the suburbs of Chicago in particular, Blackout Wednesday is considered thebiggest drinking night of the year.
While everyone should enjoy the upcoming holidays, it’s important to realize that binge drinking events like Blackout Wednesday can present many dangers to your health and the safety of others.
What Is Blackout Wednesday?
Also known as Drinksgiving, Blackout Wednesday or Black Wednesday has become the first drinking weekend of the holiday season. In many ways, itrivals New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day in the amount of alcohol people end up consuming.Sadly, the moniker of Blackout Wednesday promotes and potentially normalizes hazardous drinking.This unofficial party night is celebrated among many groups of people, from college students to business professionals.
Several factors have likely contributed to the night before Thanksgiving becoming a time for drunken revelry:
- People who have off work for Thanksgiving are looking to let their hair down after a short workweek.
- College students who have just come of age return home and want to celebrate with old friends.
- Some are bracing for awkward or uncomfortable family gatherings the next day.
The Dangers of Blackout Wednesday
In many ways, Blackout Wednesday is a perfect storm of problematic drinking behaviors. Between justified binge drinking and an abundance of bar promotions and events, this surge of drunkenness carries a variety of potentially dangerous consequences.
1. It Normalizes Binge Drinking
When it comes to single drinking events like Blackout Wednesday, people often rationalize that it’s okay to binge drink. They think that this type of drinking is okay since it’s not habitual, and they minimize the danger that comes with it.
2. It Contributes to Problematic Drinking Habits and Addiction
Binge drinking and addiction don’t necessarily go hand in hand. However, the more you justify problematic drinking, the easier it is to develop an alcohol use problem later on. Addiction is a progressive condition, and even a single episode of binge drinking can contribute to a pattern of problematic drinking behaviors.
3. It Puts Driver Safety at Risk
During Thanksgiving weekend, more people are out driving than usual as they travel to holiday gatherings. Sadly, theNational Safety Council estimates thatmore than 400 people may die on the roadsduring the Thanksgiving holiday period in a given year. Alcohol consumption is a major contributing factor to fatal car crashes. Blackout Wednesday can lead to your own death or the death of those just trying to get where they’re going.
4. It Increases Your Risk of a DUI Charge
Throughout the Thanksgiving weekend, most U.S. cities increase patrol cars and roadside safety checkpoints to look out for people driving under the influence. By choosing to drive drunk after celebrating Blackout Wednesday, you put yourself at risk of major legal consequences.
5. It’s Potentially Fatal
Binge drinking accounts fornearly half of all alcohol-related deathsin the U.S. — meaning that a night of risky intoxication could be your last.
Effects of Binge Drinking
Blackout Wednesday is an excuse for many to indulge in binge drinking. This type of drinking occurs when you consume four or more alcoholic drinks in a two-hour period. This dangerous pattern of alcohol use is both common and deadly. While most people who binge drink do not have a severe alcohol addiction, even a single night of excessive drunkenness can have serious effects on your physical health, such as:
- Alcohol poisoning
- Unintentional injuries from falls, car crashes or burns
- Violence from fights, abuse or homicide
- Sexual assault
- Risky sexual behaviors resulting in STDs
- Damage to internal organs, including your liver, heart, kidneys, lungs and pancreas
- Contributing to the development of an alcohol use disorder
ChooseHealth and Recovery This Blackout Wednesday
Binge drinking is a very common behavior, especially during special events like Blackout Wednesday. However, just because a behavior is widespread and popular does not mean that it should be observed. This holiday season, celebrate safely and responsibly with your friends and family.
If you find that your binge drinking is getting out of control, you could be struggling with alcohol addiction. The team at Gateway Foundation can help. Our evidence-basedalcohol addiction treatmentsprovide personalized care to ensure you get the help you need.Contact us todayto learn more.
Gateway Foundation
Gateway Foundation is a recognized leader in evidence-based addiction treatment proven to get results. Our experts in Addiction Medicine—including highly educated clinical and medical professionals and expert psychiatrists and nurses—deliver care that never stops. For over 50 years, Gateway Foundation has been helping individuals and their families recover from addictions and behavioral health issues and is the only provider that covers the entire state of Illinois with 16 facilities from the Wisconsin Border to the Kentucky Border. Gateway has specific programs focusing on substance use disorders, trauma, depression, anxiety, and other co-occurring issues. We’re licensed by the state of Illinois and accredited by the Joint Commission. We are in-network with all the major commercial insurance plans. Gateway Foundation: Addiction medicine, saving lives.
FAQs
Blackout Wednesday is an excuse for many to indulge in binge drinking. This type of drinking occurs when you consume four or more alcoholic drinks in a two-hour period. This dangerous pattern of alcohol use is both common and deadly.
What is the meaning of Blackout Wednesday? ›
Every year, people reunite with friends to celebrate the night before Thanksgiving. The Blackout Wednesday campaign seeks to educate drivers about the dangers of alcohol-impaired driving. The target audience is males ages 21 to 34 years old.
What is the national Blackout Wednesday? ›
Blackout Wednesday (also known as Drinksgiving) refers to binge drinking on the night before the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.
Is Blackout Wednesday a Chicago thing? ›
“Blackout Wednesday” in Chicago, and the nearby suburbs, is especially well known. But there's a dark side to the festivities. A surge in holiday travel, combined with a large number of drunk drivers, has made the Wednesday before Thanksgiving one of the most dangerous nights on the road.
What is the Black Wednesday night before Thanksgiving? ›
Also known as Drinksgiving, Blackout Wednesday is the cultural phenomenon of people gathering to enjoy a fun night out at the bar with friends the evening before Thanksgiving. It's driven by college students and young adults returning to their hometowns for the holidays.
What is the Blackout Wednesday day? ›
Blackout Wednesday is gaining attention as an unofficial start to the celebratory season where drinking is more frequent and indulgent. This day, which falls on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, has become notorious for excessive alcohol consumption.
What is the meaning of the blackout event? ›
Blackout Event means any of the following: (a) the possession by the Company of material information that is not ripe for disclosure in a registration statement or prospectus, as determined in good faith by the Chief Executive Officer or the Board of Directors of the Company or that disclosure of such information in ...
Is there going to be a blackout in 2024 in the USA? ›
More blackouts are expected in 2024 and beyond.
That's because generators can go offline during prolonged cold snaps, threatening the reliability of the natural gas supply and infrastructure. However, some areas could see increased blackouts even under more moderate weather conditions, the NERC report says.
What holiday is Black Wednesday? ›
Also known as Drinksgiving, Blackout Wednesday or Black Wednesday has become the first drinking weekend of the holiday season. In many ways, it rivals New Year's Eve and St. Patrick's Day in the amount of alcohol people end up consuming.
How many hours does a blackout last? ›
Blackouts can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few days or even weeks. A brownout is only a partial loss of power, where a system's capacity and voltage are reduced. Brownouts usually happen when there's high demand across the power grid.
The day before Thanksgiving is becoming a holiday in itself. Thanksgiving Eve is the biggest drinking night of the year and here's why! Thanksgiving Eve, also known as Blackout Wednesday or Drinksgiving, is like Christmas Eve but for adults.
What holiday do people drink the most alcohol? ›
After the Fourth of July, the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day (spiking on Thanksgiving itself, Christmas Eve, and New Year's Eve) accounts for the most extreme cases of alcohol consumption.
What is the biggest night for drunk driving? ›
New Year's Day – the most dangerous holiday for drunk driving that, in reality, starts on New Year's Eve – sees deaths spike 117 percent above what is considered the baseline average.
How long has Blackout Wednesday been a thing? ›
Blackout Wednesday has been trending on Google searches since 2004, particularly during the month of November, and there seems to have been an uptick in searches for it starting around 2010. Furthermore, it seems to be most popular around the Great Lakes region.
What is the nickname for Thanksgiving Eve? ›
Whether it's called Black Wednesday, Blackout Wednesday, or Drinksgiving, the night before Thanksgiving is widely known as one of the most popular drinking nights of the year.
What is the meaning of Drinksgiving? ›
Urban Dictionary, arbiters of trendy jargon, says Drinksgiving is “the day and night before actual Thanksgiving where you drink and have fun with your friends because you'll have to endure family the whole next day.” 🍻 Cheers to Drinksgiving.
What does blackout days mean? ›
“Blackout date” is a phrase used primarily in the travel and tourism industry to denote specific dates where rewards, negotiated rates, extended stay discounts, and other travel promotions are not available. Travelers may run into blackout date restrictions when: ● Booking hotel rooms. ● Finding event space.
Why is Wednesday before Thanksgiving the biggest drinking night? ›
Several factors have likely contributed to the night before Thanksgiving becoming a time for drunken revelry: People who have off work for Thanksgiving are looking to let their hair down after a short workweek. College students who have just come of age return home and want to celebrate with old friends.
What is a blackout night? ›
What is BlackOut Night? A BLACK OUT is the purposeful creation of an environment in which a Black audience can experience and discuss an event in the performing arts, film, athletic, and cultural spaces where they are the majority. A concept birthed by Slave Play playwright Jeremy O.
What is the day before Thanksgiving drinking? ›
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - The day before Thanksgiving (AKA Blackout Wednesday) is known as the biggest day of excessive alcohol consumption of the year. Bars across the country have seen a 42% increase in transactions on Thanksgiving Eve and a 52% increase in revenue.
