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V Throughout history, wine and other alcoholic beverages have been a source of pleasure and aesthetic appreciation in many cultures.
"In most of the cultures...the primary image is a positive one. Usually drinking is viewed as an important adjunct to sociability. Almost as often, it is seen as a relatively inexpensive and effective relaxant, or as an important accompaniment to food.... Its use in religions is ancient, and reflects social approval rather than scorn.... Most people in the United States, Canada, and Sweden, when asked what emotions they associate with drinking, responded favorably, emphasizing personal satisfactions of relaxation, social values of sociability, an antidote to fatigue, and other positive features...."
Heath, D.B., "Some Generalizations about Alcohol and Culture," pp. 348-361 in Heath, D.B., ed., International Handbook on Alcohol and Culture, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, 1995, p. 350-351.
"[In colonial America] Parents gave it [alcohol] to children for many of the minor ills of childhood, and its wholesomeness for those in health, it appeared, was only surpassed by its healing properties in case of disease. No other element seemed capable of satisfying so many human needs. It contributed to the success of any festive occasion and inspirited those in sorrow and distress. It gave courage to the soldier, endurance to the traveller, foresight to the statesman, and inspiration to the preacher. It sustained the sailor and the plowman, the trader and the trapper. By it were lighted the fires of revelry and of devotion. Few doubted that it was a great boon to mankind."
Levine, H.G., "The Good Creature of God and the Demon Rum," pp. 111-161 in National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Research Monograph No. 12: Alcohol and Disinhibition: Nature and Meaning of the Link, NIAAA, Rockville, MD, 1983, p. 115.
"British attitudes are generally favorable to drinking in itself while disapproving of heavy or problematic drinking. The drinking scene in the UK has undergone marked changes during recent decades. Public bars are now far more congenial and attractive to drinkers of both genders.... The British generally enjoy drinking, and recent legislation has attempted to increase the social integration of alcohol use and to discourage alcohol-related problems, but not drinking in itself."
Plant, M.A., "The United Kingdom," pp. 289-299 in Heath, D.B., ed., International Handbook on Alcohol and Culture, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, 1995, p. 298.
"Passover: Passover is a happy time. We are happy to be free. On the first and second nights we have a Seder. My whole family is there, singing and having a good time. Everybody drinks four glasses of wine....
Shabbat: Shabbat comes once a week.... It is a day of rest. It starts on Friday evening, when mother lights the candles. Then daddy comes home and says the kiddush over the wine and challah.
Next morning we all go to the synagogue. Back home again, we have a nice dinner and sing songs and take it easy. In the evening, when the three starts are out, daddy says the habdolah. I hold the candle, smell the spices and sip a little wine from the kiddush cup."
Garvey, R., and Weiss, S., The First Book of Jewish Holidays, KTAV Publishing, New York, 1954.
"The Shabbat wine slurps and slips and glides into the cup. It almost spills over. Listen! Then say, `Amen,' to Kiddush, the blessing over the wine. Taste the cool, sweet, delicious Kiddush wine. Feel it slide down your throat."
Kobre, F., A Sense of Shabbat, Torah Aura Productions, Los Angeles, 1989, pp. 20-22.
"...we want to assure moderate drinkers that the age-old bromides they learned from their grandmothers (like putting Amaretto on a teething baby's gums) or their grandfathers (who told them a glass of wine completes a good meal) or their fathers (a beer on a hot day with friends is one of the great pleasures in life) are still sound and are worth passing on."
Peele, S., Brodsky, A., and Arnold, M., The Truth About Addiction and Recovery, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1991, p. 339.
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