A little reason to celebrate
National Repeal Day
Drink · History · December 5
Repeal Day marks the end of national Prohibition in the United States, when the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th and legal drinking returned.
National Repeal Day falls on Saturday, December 5, 2026. That is 39 days away.
For a stretch of American history, making, selling and transporting alcoholic drinks was against federal law. That era was called Prohibition, and it was set in place by the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. Repeal Day marks the moment it ended, when the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th and the country's taps, stills and cellars were legal again.
Prohibition did not make people stop drinking so much as change where they did it. Speakeasies hid behind unmarked doors and passwords. Bootleggers moved liquor across borders and coastlines. Home brewing and bathtub gin filled the gaps, with uneven results. A lot of the cocktail culture people now think of as classic grew up around disguising rough spirits with juice, sugar and bitters.
The 21st Amendment has an unusual place in the Constitution. It is the only amendment written to cancel another one, and it was approved through state ratifying conventions rather than state legislatures. It also left much of the regulation of alcohol to the states, which is why the rules for buying a bottle can change noticeably when you cross a state line.
People mark the day with drinks from that period, often a well made old cocktail in a dim bar that leans into the speakeasy mood. Others treat it as a history day and read up on the people who argued for and against the ban. A good mocktail with fresh citrus fits the occasion just as well, since the craft of mixing a drink was half the story.
Some counties in the United States still choose to stay dry, a quiet holdover from that older law.
Ways to celebrate
- Mix a classic cocktail or a citrus mocktail from the speakeasy era.
- Read about how speakeasies hid in plain sight.
- Look up your own state's alcohol laws and how they differ from neighbors.
- Visit a local bar or museum with Prohibition history.
Dates
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Saturday, December 5 |
| 2027 | Sunday, December 5 |
| 2028 | Tuesday, December 5 |
| 2029 | Wednesday, December 5 |
| 2030 | Thursday, December 5 |
All national days on December 5
Also on December 5
- Hanukkah
- National Blue Jeans Day
- Day of the Ninja
- National Sacher Torte Day
- Bathtub Party Day
- National Communicate With Your Kids Day
Categories: Drink daysHistory days