Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1996, Page 128

132
NEWS AND PROGRESS
meira tíðarbundin enn nøgdarbundin: rús-
drekka var avmarkað til vertskap, høgtíðir
og siðbundin gildi, sum fylgdu arbeiðsárin-
um í búnaðarsamfelagnum.
Tað er framvegis sjálvsfatan føroyinga,
at teir drekka sjáldan, men nógv í senn.
Alla hesa øldini hevur verið ført fram, at
lógarbannið fyri rúsdrekkahandli í Føroy-
um hevur elvt til hetta drykkjumynstur,
sum tó eisini tykist at hava verið galdandi í
eldri tíðum. - Umframt tað hava vit í Før-
oyum havt upp á seg nógv fráhaldsfólk,
men hesin partur hevur verið minkandi tey
seinastu ártíggjuni.
Gongdin tey seinastu árini hevur verið,
at drykkju- og vertskapssiðir líkjast meira
teimum í grannalondunum enn tí, sum var
vanligt fyrr í hesi øldini. Hetta skiftið fellur
saman við skiftinunr til ídnaðarsamfelag og
tí harav fylgjandi spjaðingini í arbeiðsbýti
og kunnleikakrøvum. - Høvini at drekka
eru vorðin fleiri og margfaldari, úrvalið av
drekkasløgum størri, og harvið møguleik-
arnir at nýta sínar drykkjuvanar sum sym-
bol fyri lívsstíl og samleika. A tann hátt
endurspegla rúsdrekkasiðirnir økt fjøl-
broytni í lívsumstøðum og lívslag.
plebescite in November 1907 showed that
in no island there was sufficient support to
permit the sale or serving of alcohol, and
right up to 1992 this main principle of pro-
hibiting any local trade with alcohol has
been valid i Faroese legislation.
The increase in alcohol consumption,
which seems to have peaked in the 1860s,
was followed by a marked decrease, espe-
cially around the tum of the century. Im-
port statistics show that the mean con-
sumption has been stable and relatively low
in the Faroe Islands from the beginning of
this century and right up to the 1960s.
Both written and oral sources agree that
in the old times the consumption of alcohol
was confined to a few annual celebrations.
Although after the tum of the century agri-
culture had lost its importance as the main
industry and was replaced by deep-sea
fishing, there was no change in the annunal
cycle of festivities and the rythm of (heavy)
drinking.
Since the Second World War the Faroese
society has experienced great changes to-
wards industrialisation and modernisation.
The rate at which modernisation affects so-
ciety varies, even in a small society like
that of the Faroe Islands. In recent times we
have witnessed an increased division of
labour and hence the need for a wider range
of qualifications.
Differentiation of economic circumstan-
ces and ways of life are reflected in differ-
entiation in drinking habits, which may be
viewed as personal markers of identity.
Since the 1960s the import figures have
shown a continuous incease in the average
consumption of alcohol, and the variation