While you might know that today is Festivus and have already erected your unadorned aluminum pole, you probably don’t know that it’s also Tip’s Eve. Also known as Tipsy Eve, and for good reason, this booze-fueled holiday is celebrated largely in Newfoundland but is slowly spreading outward. Tip’s Eve was created out of whole cloth during the middle of the last century as an excuse for Newfoundlanders to drink during Advent, which is, generally speaking, a period of time before Xmas that Christians are expected to indulge in sobriety and other forms of self-denial. Tip’s Eve is also recognized as the day and/or night that drinkers spend with their friends before surrendering their time to family-oriented festivities. Recommended drink: How about a big glass of Screech? While there is now a rum going by that name, in Newfoundland Screech refers to any high-powered booze, up to and especially including the homemade variety.
