Most male Germans will be drunk today for no particular reason

Alcohol-related traffic accidents likely will multiply by three as virtually all male Germans get jointly drunk

(KARL-JOSEF HILDENBRAND/AFP/Getty Images)

It is widely known that Germans love their beer. But their appreciation for the alcoholic beverage extends far beyond Munich Oktoberfest.

Today, alcohol-related traffic accidents likely will multiply by three as virtually all male Germans will get jointly drunk. It's traditionally the most dangerous day of the year to be on the streets in Germany because it is Father's Day.

The tradition always coincides with the Christian Feast of the Ascension of Jesus — but Germans have a very particular understanding of how to celebrate being a father, it seems.

German men traditionally meet up in large groups that are equipped with at least one carefully decorated carriage filled with beer. They then descend on a day-long hike with their very own beer vehicles, but few make it to the end.

The goal for many German men today, it appears, is to get too drunk too walk. There is no deeper meaning behind this mass-drinking event which occupies Europe's largest country and economic powerhouse for one full day every year.

Although many Germans simply decide to leave their phones at home for Father's Day in order not to lose them, some Twitter users shared insights into how their day had gone, so far, using the German hashtag #Vatertag.

One commentator complained about the lack of beer at a forest party — a situation he described as a “catastrophe”.

Public radio station Bayern 1 — which broadcasts from the southern German beer capital of Munich — published a short video on Thursday with “5 things one should avoid on Father's Day.” The report recommended Germans to not take embarrassing photos (a proposal which was accompanied by the photo of a half naked man lying on a street).

The country's public broadcaster also urged Germans not to drink hard liquor too early in the morning, but rather later in the day, and to not “forget about the way home.”

In a popular YouTube video which seeks to explain why Germans get so drunk so randomly on Father's Day, the narrator points out that it was Americans who invented the day officially in the 19th century, following the creation of Mother's Day which will take place on Sunday. However, the very German tradition of men celebrating themselves with beer might go back centuries.

The tradition has caused debates in the past. In 2008, for instance, former German family minister and current defense minister Ursula von der Leyen urged male Germans to stop drinking in front of their kids or leaving their families for the day. "Men who want their kids to be as far away as possible are really just awful," she said in an interview.

The comments sparked outrage, according to multiple reports back then.

Copyright: Washington Post