The 12 pubs of Christmas has become quite the tradition in Ireland over the years with groups of friends dressing up in festive attire and becoming more than merry by the end of their night out.

The aim, to consume 12 units of alcohol in 12 different public houses on the same day, along with specific rules. A daring plan, you will see youths and adults alike in their droves, all across the country, partaking in this annual tradition around Christmas time.

Various bar managers have even placed signs on the doors of their establishments that state groups who are doing 12 pubs shall not be allowed in.

Rules are down to the people involved, however, some common rules of the event are:

• The no cursing rule.
• A silent pub where noeone talks.
• Feeding a friend a drink for the duration of the time in one pub.
• The no toilet pub.
• You can’t use your phone for the duration of one pub.

If you think certain rules are bad, consider this, failure to cooperate can result in an embarrassing consequence or punishment.

It is not known for certain where the 12 pubs of Christmas originates from. Coincidentally, there exists an annual tradition in Chicago, Illinois called “The Twelve Bars of Christmas”, or commonly known as TBOX (Twelve Bars Of Xmas).

This tradition in Chicago was first started in 1996, gaining national recognition in 2010, after becoming the unofficial largest pub crawl with over 10,000 participants and more than 40 pubs opening their doors to vistors clad in Christmas-themed outfits.

There’s some food for thought.