As Danes around the country prepare to consume the first Christmas beers of the year, the police are bracing themselves for another night of mayhem.
There are few countries in the world that celebrate the release of a beer the way Denmark marks the annual release of Tuborg’s Julebryg seasonal Christmas beer. Brace yourself: today is J-Day.
Tonight at 20:59, Tuborg trucks will descend upon thousands of pubs throughout the country where scantily-clad young ladies will hand out free Julebryg Christmas beers.
A bit of history
Adopting its name from World War II’s D-Day, J-Day was established by Tuborg back in 1990 in connection with the release of its Christmas beer, which occurred on the second Wednesday in November at 23:59.
In 1999, J-Day was moved to the first Friday in November at 20:59, a move that was primarily agreed upon because there was a lot of trouble with young people not showing up for class the following day.
In 2009, it was moved to the last Friday in October, before moving back to the first Friday in November once again in 2010.
A marketing success
Brewed since 1981, when Tuborg first produced the beer for a limited release six weeks before Christmas, the Tuborg Julebryg is the fourth-best selling beer in Denmark.
Tuborg’s legendary Jule Øl commercial, which depicts Santa forgoing his gift-giving activities to desperately pursue a Tuborg truck, is also one of the longest-running commercials in Danish history, appearing every year on TVs and in the cinemas.
Busy day for the police
But while the nation’s beer drinkers boisterously celebrate the commencement of the Christmas season in a way that would make their Viking predecessors proud, the day isn’t all that great for the police.
The police are planning to set up extensive sobriety checkpoints across the country to warn people not to drink and drive.
Last year, the police netted 91 drink-drivers over the course of four days during and around J-Day – 14 of which were involved in traffic accidents. Another 82 were charged with driving under the influence of drugs – five of which involved traffic accidents.
Zoom in on the map below to find a J-Day location near you.
