document_title: Green Eggs and Ham

question_text: name of other character in green eggs and ham

text: Green Eggs and Ham

text: Plot summary[edit]

text: A character named "Sam" pesters Joey to try a plate of green eggs and ham. Joey refuses, responding, "I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-am." He continues to repeat this as Sam persistently follows him, asking him to try them in eight locations (house, box, car, tree, train, dark, rain, boat) and with three animals (mouse, fox, and goat). Finally, he gives into Sam's pestering and tries the green eggs and ham, which he does like after all and happily responds, "I do so like green eggs and ham. Thank you. Thank you, Sam-I-am."

text: Background[edit]

text: Green Eggs and Ham is one of Seuss's "Beginner Books", written in a very simple vocabulary for beginning readers. The vocabulary of the text consists of just 50 words[3] and was the result of a bet between Seuss and Bennett Cerf, Dr. Seuss's publisher.[3][4][5] that Seuss (after completing The Cat in the Hat using 236 words)[6] could not complete an entire book without exceeding that limit. The 50 words are: a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you.[3]

text: Reception and cultural impact[edit]

text: Green Eggs and Ham was published on August 12, 1960.[7][8] By 2018, it had become the fourth-best selling English-language children's hardcover book of all time.[9][10] As of 2014, the book has sold 8 million copies. In 1999 the National Education Association (NEA) conducted an online survey of children and teachers, seeking the 100 most popular children's books. The children ranked Green Eggs and Ham third, just above another Dr. Seuss book, The Cat in the Hat.[11] The teachers ranked it fourth.[12] Teachers ranked it fourth again in a 2007 NEA poll.[13] Scholastic Parent & Child magazine placed it #7 among the "100 Greatest Books for Kids" in 2012.[14] That same year, it was ranked number 12 among the "Top 100 Picture Books" in a survey published by School Library Journal – the first of five Dr. Seuss books on the list.[15]

text: The book has become sufficiently ingrained in the cultural consciousness that U.S. District Court Judge James Muirhead referenced Green Eggs and Ham in his September 21, 2007 court ruling after receiving an egg in the mail from prisoner Charles Jay Wolff who was protesting against the prison diet. Muirhead ordered the egg destroyed and rendered his judgment in the style of Seuss.[16][17] Senator Ted Cruz read the book on the floor of the United States Senate during his filibuster over the funding over Obamacare.[18] Musician will.i.am has stated that his moniker is inspired by the story.[19]

text: On September 29, 1991, following Dr. Seuss' death earlier that week, the Reverend Jesse Jackson recited an excerpt of Green Eggs and Ham on Saturday Night Live during a special tribute segment.[20]

text: Adaptations[edit]

text:
Green Eggs and Ham is the third of the three Geisel stories that were adapted into the television special Dr. Seuss on the Loose, which featured a connecting narration by The Cat In The Hat, in 1973. (The Sneetches and The Zax were the other two.)
The song "Green Eggs and Ham" was recorded by the band Moxy Früvous on their 1992 independent debut album Moxy Früvous and is a rap treatment of the famous story.
The book was also made into a Living Books adaptation for the PC and there were similar differences to reflect the new media such as Sam singing his opening lines.
An upcoming animated television series based on the book, Green Eggs and Ham, will premiere on Netflix in 2018, produced by Warner Bros. Animation, A Very Good Production, A Stern Talking To, Random House Children's Entertainment and Gulfstream Television and distributed by Warner Bros. Television.[21]
The book was also featured as one of the segments brought to life via live-action in a stage-play fashion in the 1994 TV film In Search of Dr. Seuss.
In 1995, Punk Wave band Vader Vader recorded a demo of "Green Eggs And Ham". In 2017, Vader Vader also made a music video for their demo. Unfortunately, they have not been able to secure the rights to release their song or video.

text: Temporary ban[edit]

text: In 1965, the book was banned in the People's Republic of China for its "portrayal of early Marxism".[22] The ban was lifted in 1991, following Seuss' death.[23]

text: Selected translations[edit]

text:
לֹא רָעֵב וְלֹא אוֹהֵב (Lo ra'ev ve-lo ohev, 1960, Hebrew ISBN 9789652294661)
Huevos verdes con jamón (1960, Spanish, ISBN 1880507013)
Groene eieren met ham (1960s, Dutch, ISBN 9024002966)
火腿加綠蛋 (Huǒ tuǐ jiā lǜ dàn, 1992, Chinese, ISBN 9573211254)
Prosciutto e uova verdi (2002, Italian, ISBN 880902446X)
Virent ova! Viret perna! (2003, Latin, ISBN 0865165556)
Kto zje zielone jajka sadzone? (2004, Polish, ISBN 8372781249)
Les œufs verts au jambon (2009, French, ISBN 9781569756881)
Grünes Ei mit Speck (2011, German, ISBN 9783596854417)


document_title: Adoption of the Gregorian calendar

question_text: when did the united states adopt the gregorian calendar

root

text: Adoption of the Gregorian calendar

text: Differences between Julian and Gregorian dates[edit]

text:
Conversion from Julian to Gregorian dates[a]

Gregorian range
Julian range
Difference

From 15 October 1582to 28 February 1700

From 5 October 1582to 18 February 1700

10 days

From 1 March 1700to 28 February 1800

From 19 February 1700to 17 February 1800

11 days

From 1 March 1800to 28 February 1900

From 18 February 1800to 16 February 1900

12 days

From 1 March 1900to 28 February 2100

From 17 February 1900to 15 February 2100

13 days

From 1 March 2100to 28 February 2200

From 16 February 2100to 14 February 2200

14 days

When converting a date that occurs in a leap year on one calendar but not the other, include 29 February in the calculation if the conversion spans the February/March month change (28 February – 1 March).  See table (right).

tag: table

text: First printed Gregorian calendar[edit]

text: A month after having decreed the reform, the pope (with a brief of 3 April 1582) granted to one Antoni Lilio the exclusive right to publish the calendar for a period of ten years. The Lunario Novo secondo la nuova riforma[b] was printed by Vincenzo Accolti, one of the first calendars printed in Rome after the reform, notes at the bottom that it was signed with papal authorization and by Lilio (Con licentia delli Superiori... et permissu Ant(onii) Lilij). The papal brief was revoked on 20 September 1582, because Antonio Lilio proved unable to keep up with the demand for copies.[4]

tag: p

text: Adoption in Catholic countries[edit]

text: Catholic states such as France, the Italian principalities, Poland, Spain (along with her European and overseas possessions), Portugal and the Catholic states of the Holy Roman Empire were first to change to the Gregorian calendar. Thursday, 4 October 1582 was followed by Friday, 15 October 1582, with ten days skipped. Countries that did not change until the 18th century had by then observed an additional leap year (1700), necessitating the dropping of eleven days. Some countries did not change until the 19th or 20th century, necessitating one or two further days to be omitted from the calendar.

text: Philip II of Spain decreed the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar,[5] which affected much of Roman Catholic Europe, as Philip was at the time ruler over Spain and Portugal as well as much of Italy. In these territories, as well as in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (ruled by Anna Jagiellon) and in the Papal States, the new calendar was implemented on the date specified by the bull, with Julian Thursday, 4 October 1582, being followed by Gregorian Friday, 15 October 1582; the Spanish and Portuguese colonies followed somewhat later de facto because of delay in communication.[6]

text:
Other Catholic countries soon followed. France adopted the new calendar with Sunday, 9 December 1582, being followed by Monday, 20 December 1582.[7]
The Dutch provinces of Brabant and Zeeland, and the States General adopted it on 25 December of that year; the provinces forming the Southern Netherlands (modern Belgium) except the Duchy of Brabant adopted it on 1 January 1583; the province of Holland adopted it on 12 January 1583.[8] The seven Catholic Swiss cantons adopted the new calendar in January 1684 while Geneva and several Protestant cantons adopted it in January 1701 or at other dates throughout the 18th century. The two Swiss communes of Schiers and Grüsch were the last areas of Western and Central Europe to switch to the Gregorian calendar, in 1812.[9]

text: Adoption in Protestant countries[edit]

text: Many Protestant countries initially objected to adopting a Catholic innovation; some Protestants feared the new calendar was part of a plot to return them to the Catholic fold.[10] In England, Queen Elizabeth I and her privy council had looked favourably to a Gregorian-like royal commission recommendation to drop 10 days from the calendar but the virulent opposition of the Anglican bishops, who argued that the Pope was undoubtedly the fourth great beast of Daniel, led the Queen to let the matter to be quietly dropped.[11] In the Czech lands, Protestants resisted the calendar imposed by the Habsburg Monarchy. In parts of Ireland, Catholic rebels until their defeat in the Nine Years' War kept the "new" Easter in defiance of the English-loyal authorities; later, Catholics practising in secret petitioned the Propaganda Fide for dispensation from observing the new calendar, as it signalled their disloyalty.[12]

text: Prussia[edit]

text:
The Lutheran Duchy of Prussia, till 1657 still a fief of Roman Catholic Poland, was the first
Protestant nation to adopt the Gregorian calendar under influence of its liege lord, the Polish king, agreed upon in 1611. So 22 August was followed by 2 September 1612. However, this calendar change did not apply for other territories of the Hohenzollern, such as Berlin-based Brandenburg, a fief of the Holy Roman Empire.

text: Denmark[edit]

text:
Through Ole Rømer's influence, Denmark in 1700, which then included Norway, adopted the solar portion of the Gregorian calendar with Sunday, 18 February 1700, being followed by Monday, 1 March 1700, simultaneously with the Brandenburg-Pomerania
 and other Protestant estates of the Holy Roman Empire.[13] None of these states adopted the lunar portion, instead calculating the date of Easter astronomically using the instant of the vernal equinox and the full moon according to Kepler's Rudolphine Tables of 1627; this combination was referred to by the Protestant estates as the "improved calendar" (Verbesserte Kalender) and considered to be distinct from the Gregorian. They finally adopted the Gregorian calculation of Easter in 1774.[14] The remaining provinces of the Dutch Republic adopted the Gregorian calendar on 12 July 1700 (Gelderland), 12 December 1700 (Overijssel and Utrecht), 12 January 1701 (Friesland and Groningen) and 12 May 1701 (Drenthe).[15]

text: Sweden[edit]

text:
Sweden's transition to the Gregorian calendar was difficult and protracted. Sweden started to make the change from the Julian calendar and towards the Gregorian calendar in 1700, but it was decided to make the (then 11-day) adjustment gradually by excluding the leap days (29 February) from each of 11 successive leap years, 1700 to 1740. Meanwhile, the Swedish calendar would be out of step with both the Julian calendar and the Gregorian calendar for 40 years; also, the difference would not be constant but would change every four years. This system had potential for confusion when working out the dates of Swedish events in this 40-year period. To add to the confusion, the system was poorly administered, and the leap days that should have been excluded in 1704 and 1708 were not excluded. The Swedish calendar (according to the transition plan) should have been 8 days behind the Gregorian but was 10 days behind. King Charles XII recognised that the gradual change to the new system was not working, and he abandoned it.
Rather than proceeding directly to the Gregorian calendar, it was decided to revert to the Julian calendar. This was achieved by introducing the unique date 30 February in 1712, adjusting the discrepancy in the calendars from 10 back to 11 days. Sweden finally adopted the solar portion of the Gregorian calendar in 1753, when Wednesday, 17 February, was followed by Thursday, 1 March. Since Finland was under Swedish rule at that time, it did the same.[16] The Russian Empire's 1809 conquest of Finland did not revert this, since autonomy was granted, but government documents in Finland were dated in both the Julian and Gregorian styles. This practice ended when independence was gained in 1917.

text: Great Britain and its colonies[edit]

text: Through enactment of the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, Great Britain and its colonies (including the eastern part of what is now the United States) adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, by which time it was necessary to correct by 11 days. Wednesday, 2 September 1752, was followed by Thursday, 14 September 1752. Claims that rioters demanded "Give us our eleven days" grew out of a misinterpretation of a painting by William Hogarth. In Great Britain, the term "New Style" was used for the calendar and the Act omits any acknowledgement of Pope Gregory: the Annexe to the Act established a computation for the date of Easter that achieved the same result as Gregory's rules, without actually referring to him.[17]

text: With the same Act, the Empire (except Scotland, which had already done so from 1600) changed the start of the civil year from 5 April to 1 January. Consequently, the custom of dual dating (giving a date in both old and new styles) can refer to the Julian/Gregorian calendar change, or to the start of year change, or to both.

text: The British tax year traditionally began on Lady Day (25 March) on the Julian calendar and thus became 5 April, which was the "Old Style" equivalent. A 12th skipped Julian leap day in 1800 changed its start to 6 April. It was not changed when a 13th Julian leap day was skipped in 1900, so the tax year in the United Kingdom still begins on 6 April.

text: Adoption in the Americas[edit]

text: The European colonies of the Americas adopted the change when their mother countries did.  In 1752, the British colonies (which as stated above adopted the New Style calendar in that year) extended as far west as the Appalachian Mountains. New France and New Spain had adopted the new calendar in 1582. In Alaska, the change took place after the United States purchased Alaska from Russia.  Friday, 6 October 1867 was followed by Friday, 18 October. Instead of 12 days, only 11 were skipped, and the day of the week was repeated on successive days, because at the same time the International Date Line was moved, from following Alaska's eastern border with Canada to following its new western border, now with Russia.[18]

text: Adoption in Eastern Europe[edit]

text: Many of the countries of eastern Europe were Eastern Orthodox or Islamic and adopted the Gregorian calendar much later than western Christian countries. Roman Catholic countries such as the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth adopted the "new style" (N.S.) Gregorian calendar in 1582 (switched back in 1795 after Third Partition of Poland), but the switch to the Gregorian calendar for secular use occurred in Eastern Orthodox countries as late as the 20th century  –  and some religious groups in some of these countries still use the "old style" (O.S.) Julian calendar for ecclesiastical purposes.

text: The Kingdom of Bulgaria changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar during the First World War on 31 March 1916, where the next day was 14 April 1916.[19]

text: The Ottoman Empire's Rumi calendar, used for fiscal purposes, was realigned from a Julian to a Gregorian starting on 16 February/ 1 March 1917. The beginning of the year was reset to 1 January starting in 1918. The numbering of the years, though, remained uniquely Turkish until the Gregorian calendar was introduced for general purposes on 1 January 1927.[c]

text: In Russia, the Gregorian calendar was accepted after the October Revolution. On 24 January 1918 the Council of People's Commissars issued a decree that Wednesday, 31 January 1918, was to be followed by Thursday, 14 February 1918, thus dropping 13 days from the calendar. With the change, the October Revolution itself, once converted, took place on November 7. Articles about the October Revolution which mention this date difference tend to do a full conversion to the dates from Julian to the Gregorian calendar. For example, in the article "The October (November) Revolution" the Encyclopædia Britannica uses the format of "25 October (7 November, New Style)" to describe the date of the start of the revolution.[20]

text: Other countries of eastern Europe, most notably Eastern Orthodox countries, adopted the Gregorian calendar in the 1910s or early 1920s. The last country of Eastern Orthodox Europe to adopt the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes was Greece, at the time under military administration following the 11 September 1922 Revolution, with Wednesday 15 February 1923 being followed by Thursday 1 March 1923.[13] The Soviet decree expressly limited the reform to lay (i.e. non-religious) matters, as did the Greek decree. None of these reforms affected the dates of religious holidays. (See below.)

text: Non-adoption by Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches[edit]

text: While the civil administrations of eastern European countries adopted the Gregorian calendar in the 1910s or early 1920s, none of the national Eastern Orthodox Churches have recognised the Gregorian calendar for church or religious purposes. Instead, a Revised Julian calendar was proposed in May 1923 at the Pan-Orthodox Congress of Constantinople (fr). The first churches to start using this calendar did so on 18 September/1 October. It uses a different leap year rule, modifying a proposal of 1785[21] in such a way as to maximise the time before its dates start to diverge from Gregorian. There will be no difference between the two calendars until 2800.

text: The Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, Russian Orthodox Church, Serbian Orthodox Church, Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church, Polish Orthodox Church, Macedonian Orthodox Church and the Greek Old Calendarists did not accept the Revised Julian calendar, and continue to celebrate Christmas on 25 December in the Julian calendar, which is 7 January in the Gregorian calendar until 2100.

text: All of the other Eastern churches, the Oriental Orthodox churches (Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, and Syriac Orthodox Church) continue to use their own calendars, which usually result in fixed dates being celebrated in accordance with the Julian calendar. This is most interesting in the case of the Syriac Orthodox Church, as one of its Patriarchs Ignatius Nemet Allah I was one of the nine scholars who devised the Gregorian calendar.[22] The Indian Orthodox Church uses the Gregorian calendar along with their autonomous Syriac Orthodox counterparts in India, the Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church.

text: The Armenian Apostolic Church adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1923, except in the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, where the old Julian calendar is still in use.[23][24]

text: Adoption in East Asia[edit]

text: Japan decided to officially replace its traditional lunisolar calendar with the Gregorian calendar in 1872, so the day following the second day of the twelfth month of the fifth year of the Meiji emperor's rule, became 1 January 1873. (The Japanese rendering of the Western months is simply ichi-gatsu or "One-month" for January, ni-gatsu or "Two-month" for February, etc.[25]) This brought Japan's calendar in alignment with that of the major Western powers (excluding Russia). To this day, however, it is common to use Nengo, reign names instead of the Common Era or Anno Domini system, especially for official documents; for instance, Meiji 1 for 1868, Taishō 1 for 1912, Shōwa 1 for 1926, Heisei 1 or 1989, and so on. Still, this system has increasingly been replaced in popular usage by the "Western calendar" (西暦, seireki) over the course of the twentieth century.[citation needed]

text: Korea adopted the Gregorian calendar on 1 January 1895 with the active participation of Yu Kil-chun.[26] Although the new calendar continued to number its months, there were multiple systems used to refer to its years: during the Joseon Dynasty, in 1895–97, its years were numbered from the founding of that dynasty, regarding 1392 as year one;[27] then between 1897 and 1910, and again from 1948 to 1962, Korean era names were used for its years; and between 1910 and 1945, when Korea was under Japanese rule, Japanese era names were used to count the years of the Gregorian calendar used in Korea.[citation needed]

text: In South Korea, from 1945 until 1961, Gregorian calendar years were also counted from the foundation of Gojoseon in 2333 BC (regarded as year one), the date of the legendary founding of Korea by Dangun, hence these Dangi (단기) years were 4278 to 4294. This numbering was informally used with the Korean lunar calendar before 1945 but is only occasionally used today. North Korea from 1997 officially counts years based on the Juche era, the first year of which is 1912.

text: The Republic of China (ROC) formally adopted the Gregorian calendar at its founding on 1 January 1912, but China soon descended into a period of warlordism with different warlords using different calendars. With the unification of China under the Kuomintang in October 1928, the Nationalist government decreed that effective 1 January 1929 the Gregorian calendar would be used. China retained the Chinese traditions of numbering the months and a modified Era System, backdating the first year of the ROC to 1912; this system is still in use in Taiwan where the ROC government retains control. Upon its foundation in 1949, the People's Republic of China continued to use the Gregorian calendar with numbered months, but abolished the ROC Era System and adopted Western numbered years.

text: Countries that used lunisolar calendars[edit]

text:
Japan, Korea, and China started using the Gregorian calendar on 1 January 1873, 1896, and 1912, respectively.[28][29]
They had used lunisolar calendars previously. None of them used the Julian calendar; the Old Style and New Style dates in these countries usually mean the older lunisolar dates and the newer Gregorian calendar dates respectively. In these countries, the old style calendars were similar but not all the same. The Arabic numerals may be used for both calendar dates in modern Japanese and Korean languages, but not for Chinese old-style dates.

text: Japan[edit]

text: Japan started using the Gregorian calendar on 1 January 1873,[28] locally known as "the first day of the first month of Meiji 6" (明治6年1月1日, Meiji rokunen ichigatsu tsuitachi). The preceding day, 31 December 1872, was "the second day of the twelfth month of Meiji 5" (明治5年12月2日, Meiji gonen jūnigatsu futsuka).

text: Japan currently uses two eras: the western era and a modified traditional Japanese era name (nengō). The months and days are those of the Gregorian calendar, but the year is either the western year number or a year of the nengō of the emperor on the throne. Since 1873, an era and the first year of that era has begun on the day of the year that the emperor ascended the throne. The second year of that era began on the next 1 January even if the first year contained only a few days. All subsequent years of that era began on 1 January until that emperor died. For example, the first year of the Showa Era, that of Emperor Hirohito, contained only the last six days of 1926, while Showa 64, his last year, contained only the first seven days of 1989. The current Gregorian year 2018 corresponds to Heisei 30.

text: Korea[edit]

text:
Korea started using the Gregorian calendar on 1 January 1896, which was the 17th day of the 11th lunar month not only in Korea but also in China, which still used the lunisolar calendar.[29] The lunisolar Korean calendar is now used for very limited unofficial purposes only.
The North Korean calendar uses Gregorian months and days, but with Kim Il-Sung's year of birth (1912) used as year 1.

text: China[edit]

text: The Republic of China government under Provisional President Sun Yat-sen abolished the lunisolar Chinese calendar and adopted the Gregorian calendar on 1 January 1912. The public, however, resisted the change and continued to observe traditional holidays. President Yuan Shikai switched to a dual-calendar policy, under which the Gregorian calendar was to be used for most purposes except traditional holidays, which were to be timed according to the Chinese calendar, including the short-lived Empire of China.[d] When the communists took over China in the late 1940s they kept this two-calendar system for the People's Republic of China. Today China (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore all observe traditional holidays based on the traditional calendar, such as Lunar New Year, while timing other holidays, especially national anniversaries, according to the Gregorian calendar.

text: To visually distinguish old and new style dates, writing new style dates with Arabic numerals but old style dates with Chinese characters is the standard in Chinese publications.[30]

text: In Taiwan it is common to see Arabic numerals in new style dates, though Chinese characters sometimes appear in these. Chinese characters are normally used for old style dates, but Arabic numerals may still be seen.[e] The calendar year in Taiwan used officially is determined according to the traditional custom of era names, but using the founding of the Republic of China government in 1912 as the start rather than the regnal year of an emperor.

text: The adopted calendar in both mainland China and Taiwan are called the Public Calendar (simplified Chinese: 公历; traditional Chinese: 公曆; pinyin: Gōnglì), or "New Calendar" (simplified Chinese: 新历; traditional Chinese: 新曆; pinyin: Xīnlì).

text: Months in Gregorian calendar in Chinese are rarely named, instead they are usually numbered. For instance, Gregorian calendar December in China are usually written as month 12. On the other hand, in Chinese calendar, the 11th month and 12th month are usually nicknamed.

text: Orally, people are accustomed to call the date in the month as "No. dd", for example, the Spring Festival of this year (2017) is No. 28 of Month 1 (simplified Chinese: 1月28号; traditional Chinese: 1月28號) On the other hand, people never call dates on the Chinese calendar as "No. dd"., which avoids any possible ambiguity.

text: When referencing dates before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, the official Chinese calendar may either inherit the issues with earlier calendars to be historically correct[f] or follow the proleptic Gregorian calendar if so specified.[g]

text: Islamic calendar[edit]

text: The Islamic calendar is a lunar one, so that there are twelve lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days, being 11 days shorter than a solar year. Consequently, holy days in Islam migrate around the solar year on a 32-year cycle.[31] Some countries in the Islamic world use the Gregorian calendar (as the Common Era calendar) for civil purposes, while retaining the Islamic calendar for religious purposes.

text: Saudi Arabia[edit]

text: Saudi Arabia adopted the Gregorian calendar as its civil calendar at the end of 2016.[31]

text: Present situation[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Today, the vast majority of countries use the Gregorian calendar as their sole civil calendar. Countries which have not adopted the Gregorian calendar are Ethiopia (Ethiopian calendar),[32]  Iran and Afghanistan (Persian calendar).

text: Some countries use other calendars alongside the Gregorian calendar, including India (Indian national calendar), Bangladesh (Bengali calendar), Nepal (Vikram Samvat), Pakistan (Islamic calendar), Israel (Hebrew calendar) and Myanmar (Burmese calendar), and other countries use a modified version of the Gregorian calendar, including Thailand (Thai solar calendar), Japan (Japanese calendar), North Korea (North Korean calendar) and Taiwan (Minguo calendar).

text: While many religious organizations reckon their liturgical year by the Gregorian civil calendar, others have retained their own calendars. Alternative calendars are used in many regions of the world today to mark cycles of religious and astrological events.

text: Possible date conflicts[edit]

text: Use of different calendars had potential to cause confusion between contemporaries. For example, it is related[33] that one of the contributory factors for Napoleon's victory at the Battle of Austerlitz was the confusion between the Russians, who were using the Julian calendar, and the Austrians, who were using the Gregorian calendar, over the date that their forces should combine.[34] However, this tale is not supported in a contemporary account from a major-general of the Austrian Imperial and Royal Army, who tells of a joint advance of the Russian and Austrian forces (in which he himself took part) five days before the battle,[35] and it is explicitly rejected in Goetz's 2005 book-length study of the battle.[36]

text: Timeline[edit]

text: The date when each country adopted the Gregorian calendar, or an equivalent, is marked against a horizontal time line. The vertical axis is used for expansion to show separate national names for ease in charting, but otherwise has no significance.

text: Notes[edit]

text:
Jump up ^ For purposes of the table, the year always begins on 1 January. A Julian leap year is every year divisible by 4. A Gregorian leap year is a year exactly divisible by 4 but not by 100 unless it is exactly divisible by 400. So 1600 and 2000 were leap years under both calendars, but the other centuries (e.g., 1700, 1800, 1900) were leap years under the Julian calendar but not the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar did not exist until 1582. The extension of the Gregorian calendar before 1582 is called the proleptic Gregorian calendar, in which the years 400, 800, and 1200 are leap years but other century years are not.

Jump up ^ "New Almanac according to the new reform".

Jump up ^ See discussion and references at Rumi calendar.

Jump up ^ The Government Gazette of the Empire of China would be dated in Gregorian calendar in the first year of Hongxian, i.e. 1916.

Jump up ^ The Central Weather Bureau used to issue lunisolar calendars in Chinese characters through 2008, but Arabic numerals since 2009.

Jump up ^ The 2000-year converter of Chinese and Western calendars by the Academia Sinica in Taiwan uses the Julian calendar from AD 1 to 4 October 1582 and allows users to customize the date of changing over from Julian to Gregorian calendar to suit specific needs. It uses Arabic numerals for both new and old style dates to ease programming, and considers AD 4 a common year to correct the leap year error.

Jump up ^ Simpler computer programming may just treat 1 January 1 as Monday as in the proleptic Gregorian calendar, though historically incorrect.

tag: ol


document_title: Diary of a Mad Black Woman

question_text: who plays charles in diary of a mad black woman

text: Diary of a Mad Black Woman

text: Plot[edit]

text: Helen and Charles McCarter have money, success, and a fine home. Their lives were perfect – on the surface. Charles, an attorney, is distant, verbally abusive, and has been having multiple affairs while Helen is unemployed, bored at home, and desperately trying to make her marriage work. On their 18th wedding anniversary, Helen finds all her belongings in a U-Haul, as Charles is kicking her out for Brenda, his young mistress and the mother of his two children.

text: Helen kicks the driver, Orlando, out of the truck and visits her intimidating grandmother, Madea. Madea takes Helen in and helps her get back on her feet, to the dismay of Madea's brother, Joe. Joe's son, Brian, acts as Madea and Helen's attorney after Charles and Brenda catch the pair breaking into and vandalizing Charles's mansion. Because Madea is a repeat offender, the judge places her under house arrest and sets a $5,000 property or cash bond for Helen.

text: Brian kicks his addict wife, Deborah, out of their home. Helen cultivates a relationship with Orlando. Meanwhile, career criminal Jamison Milton Jackson asks Charles to be his defense attorney in his trial for shooting an undercover cop during a drug deal and to possibly bribe the judge in his favor. This forces the revelation that Charles received most of his money through drug deals and buying off judges.

text: In court for divorce, Helen lets Charles keep all the money and property, provided he pay Brian's attorney fees. She also wants Charles to pay for her mother's stay in the nursing home since he made her place her there. Charles agrees to both terms. In the shooting case, despite Charles' efforts, the jury finds Jamison guilty. As Jamison is being led out of the courtroom, he snatches the bailiff's gun and shoots Charles in the back for failing to get him acquitted.

text: Orlando proposes to Helen, but before she can respond, she sees the shooting on the news and goes to the hospital with Brian. They run into Brenda. The doctor says Charles might be paralyzed for life and asks if they should resuscitate him if things deteriorate. Brenda chooses to let Charles die, but Helen, still Charles's legal wife, tells the doctor to do everything they can for him. Charles recovers, returns home with Helen, and resumes his verbal abuse of her. But Helen takes the opportunity to retaliate for years of neglect and verbal and emotional abuse. Brenda is revealed to have emptied Charles's bank account during his hospitalization and left with the children. Their maid, Christina, leaves as well because Charles has no money to pay her. In addition, all of Charles's friends and associates have turned their backs on him now that he has been left penniless.

text: Helen and Orlando argue when he learns she has moved back in with Charles to look after him. He leaves in anger. Charles realizes his mistakes and apologizes to Helen, realizing that she was the only one who showed any true care for him. He becomes a kinder man, while she helps him recover. He regains his ability to walk one day in church, where Deborah, now clean and sober, reconciles with Brian. Charles hopes to start over with Helen, but during a family dinner, she gives him her wedding ring and signed divorce papers and tells him she will always be his friend. She finds Orlando, asks him to propose again, and accepts when he does.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Kimberly Elise as Helen McCarter
Steve Harris as Charles McCarter
Shemar Moore as Orlando
Cicely Tyson as Myrtle Simmons
Lisa Marcos as Brenda
Tamara Taylor as Debrah Simmons
Tiffany Evans as Tiffany Simmons
Tyler Perry as Mabel "Madea" Simmons, Uncle Joe Simmons, and Brian Simmons
Gary Anthony Sturgis as Jamison Milton Jackson
Tamela Mann as Cora Simmons
Chandra Currelley as herself (Chandra the club singer)
Wilbur Fitzgerald as Judge
Judge Mablean Ephriam as herself

tag: ul

text: Music[edit]

text: The soundtrack was released by Motown Records on April 19, 2005.

text:
Track listing

No.
Title
Performer(s)
Length

1.
"Purify Me"
India.Arie
4:07

2.
"Sick & Tired"
Monica
4:19

3.
"Different Directions"
Angie Stone
3:39

4.
"Things I Collected"
Tamia
5:37

5.
"I Wanna Swing"
Cheryl Pepsii Riley
2:25

6.
"I Wanna Love Again"
Chandra Currelley
4:44

7.
"Fallen in Love"
Darlene McCoy
4:28

8.
"Ain't It Funny"
Heather Headley
4:03

9.
"One of Us"
Cheryl Pepsii Riley
3:31

10.
"I Wanna Be Free"
Patti Labelle
4:56

11.
"Father, Can You Hear Me"
Tiffany Evans, Cheryl Pepsii Riley, Tamela J. Mann, Chandra Currelley, Terrell Carter, & Anya Washington
4:12

12.
"Take It to Jesus"
Tamela J. Mann
2:57

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: Diary of a Mad Black Woman received mostly negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 16% based on 112 reviews. The site's consensus reads "Tyler Perry's successful play can't make the move to the screen; this mix of slapstick, melodrama and spirituality lacks a consistent tone."[3] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 36% based on reviews from 30 critics, which the site considers "generally unfavorable reviews".[4] Despite the negative reviews, CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film a rare "A+" grade.[5] Roger Ebert gave the film one out of four stars, arguing that the Madea character "is not remotely plausible [and] not merely wrong for the movie, but fatal to it." However, Ebert also wrote that Elise, Tyson and Harris offered effective performances and that "[t]here's a good movie buried beneath the bad one."[6]

text: Box office[edit]

text: On its opening weekend, the film arrived at #1 with $21.9 million. The film grossed an estimated $50.6 million in the United States and Canada with an additional $19,000 internationally for an estimated worldwide total of $50.7 million.[1]

text: Controversy[edit]

text: In early 2008, playwright Donna West filed suit against Perry, contending that he stole material from her 1991 play, Fantasy of a Black Woman. Veronica Lewis, Perry's attorney, said there was no need for her client to appropriate the work of others.[7]

text: On December 9, 2008, the case was tried before Judge Leonard Davis in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The jury returned an 8–0 verdict in favor of Perry.[8]

text: Difference from the play[edit]

text: [original research?]

text:
Helen and Charles have been married for 18 years in the movie, but in the play they were married for 20 years.
In the play, during their divorce, Helen keeps the house and $2,000 a month, but in the movie he throws her out of the house with no money for herself.
When Charles got paralyzed in the play, Helen didn't want to see him and said that he got what he deserved. In the movie, she and Brian went to see him.
The characters in the play, Angelo, Willie, and Daddy Charles don't exist. Daddy Charles may exist but was put in a home prior to the movie. Joe and Miltred acted similarly.
In the movie, Myrtle was put in a home prior to the movie, but in the play she hasn't been put in a home and she visits Helen now and then (due to her being played by Tamela Mann in the play version)
In the play, Charles and Helen got back together in the end, but in the movie even though she forgave him, she still divorced him and presumably marries Orlando, having accepted his proposal (even though he didn't ask her to marry him in the play).


document_title: Legal drinking age

question_text: what is the legal drinking age in albania

text: Legal drinking age

text: Africa[edit]

text: The most common minimum age to purchase alcohol in Africa is 18. Although it varies from the lowest age limit in Ethiopia being only 15 years, Zimbabwe with a minimum purchase age of 16 years, Gambia with an age limit of 17 years and Uganda where the minimum legal purchase age is 18 but minors aged 16 or 17 may consume a glass of beer, wine or cider with a meal at a restaurant. Cameroon and Egypt are the only countries in Africa with a minimum purchase age of 21 years. However Algeria, Angola (except Luando Province), Central African Republic, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco, Togo, Tunisia and the Western Sahara have no laws on the book restricting the sale of alcohol to minors. In Libya, Somalia and Sudan the sale, production and consumption of alcohol is completely prohibited.

text:
Country

State/region/province

De jure

Notes

Drinking age

Purchase age

 Algeria

None[3]

 Angola

None[3]

There is no national legislation prohibiting the sale of alcohol to minors.

Luanda Province

18[4]

Legislation in Luanda Province:
It is illegal to sell alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18. It is also illegal for minors to buy and consume alcohol.[4]

 Botswana

None[5]

18[5]

It is illegal for any person with a liquor license to sell or supply alcoholic beverages to minors under the age of 18 years. Because the law only applies to licensees it is not illegal for minors to buy, consume or possess alcoholic beverages.

 Burundi

None[6]

18 (None if accompanied by parent or legal guardian)[6]

It is illegal for any person with a liquor license to sell or supply alcoholic beverages to unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 years.

 Cameroon

21/18 (if accompanied by a person 21 years of age or older)[7]

It is illegal for any person with a liquor license, to sell or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under 18 years of age. The law permits adults from the ages 18 to 21 to consume, purchase and buy alcoholic beverages if accompanied by a person 21 years of age or older. Anyone over the age of 21 years may buy or consume alcohol unaccompanied.

 Cape Verde

None[8]

18[8]

It is illegal for any person to sell or supply alcoholic beverages to minors under the age of 18 years.

 Central African Republic

None[3]

 Comoros

None[3]

 Egypt

21[3]

 Equatorial Guinea

None[3]

 Eritrea

None[9]

18[9]

It is illegal for any person to sell or serve alcoholic beverages to minors under the age of 18 years.

 Ethiopia

None[10]

15[10]

It is illegal for any person to sell, offer, serve or allow to serve alcoholic beverages "in substantial quantities" to any infant or young person. The criminal code defines a young person as any person under the age of 15 years. But the Criminal Code states: "Whoever endangers the health of another, intentionally and unscrupulously, by administering or serving, or by causing or permitting to be administered or served, to minors (defined as anyone under the age of 18 years) (...) alcoholic beverages or spirituous liquors of such kind or in such quantity as to make their injurious effect certain or probable, is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding one year, and fine."

 Gabon

None[3]

 Gambia

None[11][3]

17[11][3]

It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to child or young person. A "young person" is defined as anyone under the age of 17 by the Children and Young Persons Act, 1949 Section 2.

 Ghana

18[12]

 Guinea-Bissau

None[3]

 Kenya

None[13]

18[13]

It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years.

 Lesotho

18[14]

It is illegal to sell, serve or supply any alcoholic beverage to a minor under the age of 18 years. It is also illegal for minors to consume, buy or attempt to buy alcohol.

 Liberia

None

18[3]

It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years.

 Libya

Illegal[15]

Previously Article 498 of the Libyan Penal Code prohibted the sale of alcoholic beverages to juveniles under the age of 16 years.[3]

 Malawi

None

18[16]

It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years.

 Mauritius

None

18[17]

It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years.

 Morocco

None[3]

 Mozambique

18[18]

 Namibia

None

18[19]

It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years.

 Niger

18[3]

 Nigeria

18[3]

 Republic of the Congo

None

18[20]

 Rwanda

18[3]

 Senegal

18[21]

 Seychelles

18[3]

 Somalia

Illegal[22]

 South Africa

18

The parent, adult guardian of a minor or a person responsible for administering a religious sacrament, may on occasion supply to that minor a moderate quantity of liquor to be consumed by the minor in the presence and under the supervision of that parent, guardian or other person.[23]

 South Sudan

18[3]

 Sudan

Illegal[24]

 Swaziland

18[3]

 Tanzania

None

18[25]

 Togo

None[3]

 Tunisia

None[3]

 Uganda

None[26]

1816 (wine, beer, porter, cider, perry or native liquor with meal)[26]

It is illegal for any licensee to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years. The law provides an exception for anyone who is 16 or 17 years of age, and consumes a fermented alcoholic drink with a meal, in a part of a licensed premises that serves meals and is not a bar.

 Western Sahara

None[3]

 Zambia

18[27]

It is illegal for any person with a liquor license, to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under 18 years of age. Before the Liquor Licensing Act was enacted in 2011, the minimum age to sell, serve and supply alcoholic beverages was 14 years.[28]

 Zimbabwe

None[29]

16 [29]

It is illegal for any person to sell, lend, give, supply, deliver or offer alcoholic beverages to any child under the age of 16 years, except upon production of a written order signed by the parent or guardian of the child known to such person. The police has the duty to seize any alcoholice beverage in the possession of a child under the age of 16 years without a written consent of the parents or legal guardian.

text: Americas[edit]

text: The minimum age to purchase and consume varies, but the most common age is 18 years. However, in North America the age limits varies between 18 and 21 years of age. Throughout the United States the minimum legal age to purchase any alcoholic beverage from a shop, supermarket, liquor store, bar, club or any other licensed premises is 21 years of age.  In Canada each province can decide which minimum age limit is to be set to buy or consume alcohol. Most provinces have a minimum age of 19 years, while Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec have set a minimum age of 18 years. In South America all countries have set a minimum purchase age of 18 years, except for Guyana where minors aged 16 or 17 may consume a glass of beer, wine or cider in a restaurant provided they buy a meal, and Paraguay the only country with a minimum legal purchase and drinking age of 20 years.

text:
Country

State/region/province

De jure

hideNotes

Drinking age

Purchase age

 Anguilla

None[30]

18 [30]

It is illegal to sell or serve alcoholic drinks to anyone under the age of 18 years. Violating the regulation is punished with a $9.600 fine.

 Antigua and Barbuda

None

16[31]

The sale and distribution of alcohol to a person under 16 years of age is illegal.

 Argentina

18[32]

 Bahamas

18[33]

It is illegal for any adult to sell, serve or supply any alcoholic beverage to a child (defined as anyone under the age of 18 years). The law provides an exception to treat an illness in urgent cases or upon order by a medical doctor.

 Barbados

None

16[34]

It is illegal to sell or serve any alcoholic beverage to anyone under the age of 16 years. The President of the Barbados Road Safety Association is trying to raise the drinking age to 18 years because the law is often violated.[34]

 Belize

18[35]

Drinking age is rarely enforced. IDs are almost never requested.

 Bermuda

18[36]

It is illegal to sell or serve any alcoholic beverage to a child under the age of 18 years.

 Bolivia

None[30]

18 [30]

It is illegal to sell or serve alcoholic beverages to minors under the age of 18 years. Every sold alcoholic beverage has to have a warning message on the bottle or container reading: “VENTA PROHIBIDA A MENORES DE 18 AÑOS DE EDAD” (Sale prohibited to (anyone) under 18 years of age) and “EL CONSUMO EXCESIVO DE ALCOHOL ES DAÑINO PARA LA SALUD” (Excessive alcohol consumption is harmful to (ones) health).

 Brazil

None[37]

18 [37]

It is illegal to sell, serve or supply any alcoholic beverage to a person under 18 years of age. The presidential law enacted on March 17, 2015 made any violation of the law a criminal offence. Any adult person selling, serving, giving or supplying alcoholic beverages to a minor is punished with imprisonment of 2 to 4 years, a fine of R$3.000 to R$10.000 and a ban to operate any business selling or serving alcohol.

 British Virgin Islands

16[35]

It is illegal to sell or to supply alcohol to anyone under the age of 16.

 Canada

 Alberta Manitoba Quebec

18[38][39][40]

In Alberta no person may give or sell or permit any person to give or sell liquor to a minor in licensed premises.[38] In Manitoba a person must not give, sell or otherwise supply liquor to a minor. the law provides exceptions for a doctor, dentist, pharmacist or other health care professional for medical purposes; for sacramental purposes and by the parent, guardian, spouse or common-law partner, if it is given or supplied in a residence.[39] In Quebec the law probits the sale of alcoholic beverages to a minor under the age of 18 years.[40]

 Ontario Saskatchewan British Columbia Newfoundland and Labrador Nova Scotia New Brunswick Prince Edward Island Northwest Territories Yukon Nunavut

19

 Cayman Islands

18[41]

It is prohibited to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is also illegal for any minor to buy, attempt to buy or consume alcoholic beverages. Violation of the lawis punished with a fine of five thousand dollars, and the court may, if the offence was committed by the licensee, order that the licensee shall forfeit his licence and that no licence may be issued to that person for a period not exceeding ten years from the date of his conviction.

 Chile

18[42]

The minimum age is 18 to enter an enclosure that sells alcoholic beverages. Selling alcohol to a minor may incur a fine. One must provide identification upon request. Residents of Chile over the age of 18 must carry their Chilean identification card issued by the Civil Registry and Identification Service at all times.[43]

 Colombia

None

18[44]

The law prohibits the sale of alcohol to a minor (anyone under the age of 18 years). It is not illegal for minors to buy, attempt to buy or consume alcohol.[44]

 Costa Rica

None

18[45]

The law prohibits the sale of alcohol to a minor (anyone under the age of 18 years). Selling alcohol to a minor will be punished with a fine equivalent to ten basic salaries. Whoever permits minors to maintain in any establishment which main purpose is to sell alcoholic beverages, will be sanctioned with a fine equivalent to five salaries. It is not illegal for minors to buy, attempt to buy or consume alcohol.[45]

 Cuba

None

16[46]

The penal code prohibits any adult to induce any young person under the age of 16 years, to habitually consume alcoholic beverages. However this means that de facto anyone selling, serving or supplying alcohol should check if the buyer has attained the age of 16 years. In most cases this law is not strictly enforced.[46][47]

 Dominican Republic

None

18[48]

 Ecuador

None

18[49]

It is illegal to sell alcohol beverages to a minor under the age of 18 years of age. The law obligates establishments to place a visible notice at the point of sale and to check identification to enforce the law. However it is not illegal for minors to buy, attempt to buy or consume alcohol.[49]

 El Salvador

None

18[50]

It is strictly prohibited to sell or serve alcoholic beverages to a minor under the age of 18 years. Violation of the law is punished with ¢ 25,000.00 and if convicted once more the license will be suspended for a period of six months. It is legal for minors to buy, attempt to buy and consume alcohol.[50]

 Falkland Islands

18[51]

It is illegal for any adult to sell, give or provide alcohol to a minor under the age of 18 years in any public place or licensed premises. Parents may permit their children to consume alcohol on private premises. Minors consuming alcohol in public are committing a criminal offence. The law provides exceptions for the consumption of alcohol by minors for prescription of or at the direction of a government medical officer or in the course of the administration of Holy Communion according to the rites of any Christian denomination.[51]

 Grenada

18[52]

It is illegal to sell, serve or supply any alcoholic drink to a minor under 18 years of age. Minors under 18 years are prohibited by law, to consume alcoholic beverages in public.[52]

 Guatemala

18[53]

It is illegal to sell, serve or supply any alcoholic drink to a minor under 18 years of age. Minors under 18 years are prohibited by law, to consume alcoholic beverages in public.[53]

 Guyana

18/16 for beer, wine and cider with meal[54]

It is illegal to sell or serve alcohol to a person under 18 years of age. The law provides an exception for minors aged 16 and 17, if they consume a glass of beer, wine oder cider with a meal in a restaurant. Otherwise attempting to buy alcohol or buying alcohol as a minor is an offence.[54]

 Haiti

None

18[55]

It is illegal to sell or serve alcohol to minors from May 17, 2017. Vendors are required to check identification.

 Honduras

18[42]

 Jamaica

None

18[56]

It is illegal to sell or serve any alcoholic beverage to a child (which is defined as anyone under the age of 18 years).[56]

 Mexico

18[42]

The minimum age to buy and consume alcoholic beverages is regulated by each state of Mexico. But all states have set a minimum age of 18 years, and in no state it is illegal for minors to buy and consume alcohol.

 Nicaragua

None

14 (restaurant)18 (bars, clubs, markets, supermarkets, sports and recreation centers)[57]

The law from 1980 prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors under the age of 18 years. Ever point of sale or establishment serving alcohol, is required to post a notice stating that the sale of alcohol to minors under 18 years of age is illegal. However the law permits children as young as 14 to purchase and consume alcohol in a restaurant  without further restrictions.[57]

 Panama

None

18[58]

 Paraguay

20[59]

According to Art. 1° of the law to "ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors", it is illegal to serve or sell alcohol or to allow the consumption by minors under 20 years of age. Furthermore, under Art 2° all public establishments selling alcohol must display a clearly legible notice in the sales area with the following text: "ESTA PROHIBIDA LA VENTA DE BEBIDAS ALCOHÓLICAS A MENORES DE VEINTE AÑOS DE EDAD" (It is illegal (prohibited) to sell alcoholic beverages to minors under 20 years of age)

 Peru

None

18[60]

 Puerto Rico

18

 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

16[61]

 Trinidad and Tobago

None

18[62]

It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholiv beverages to child under the age of 18 years. It is also illegal for an adult to send a child to buy alcohol on behalf. It is not illegal for children to buy or consume alcohol.[62]

 Turks and Caicos Islands

None

18[63]

It is illegal to serve or sell liquor to a young person under the age of eighteen years. Minors under the age of sixteen years may not present in a licensed premises mainly serving and selling alcoholic beverages.[63]

 United States(50 states and integral territories)

Varies by jurisdiction[42]

21[42]

The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 withholds revenue from states that allow the purchase of alcohol by anyone under the age of 21. Prior to the effective date of that Act, the drinking age varied from state to state. Some states do not allow those under the legal drinking age to be present in liquor stores or in bars (usually, the difference between a bar and a restaurant is that food is served only in the latter). Contrary to popular belief, since the act went into law, only a few states prohibit minors and young adults from consuming alcohol in private settings. As of January 1, 2010, 15 states and the District of Columbia ban underage consumption outright, 17 states do not ban underage consumption, and the remaining 18 states have family member or location exceptions to their underage consumption laws.
Federal law explicitly provides for religious exceptions. As of 2005, 31 states have family member or location exceptions to their underage possession laws. However, non-alcoholic beer in many (but not all) states, such as Idaho, Texas, and Maryland, is considered legal for those under the age of 21.[64]
By a judge's ruling, South Carolina appears to allow the possession and consumption of alcohol by adults 18 to 20 years of age, but a circuit court judge has said otherwise.[65]
The states of Washington and Wisconsin allows the consumption of alcohol in the presence of parents.
Some U.S. states have legislation that make providing to and possession of alcohol by persons under twenty-one a gross misdemeanor with a potential penalty of a $5,000 fine or up to a year in jail.[66]

See also: Minor in Possession and List of alcohol laws of the United States

 United States Virgin Islands

18[67]

 Uruguay

None

18[68]

Only selling alcohol to minors under the age of 18 is prohibited, consumption and purchase by minors is not illegal.

 Venezuela

None

18[69]

Only selling alcohol to minors under the age of 18 is prohibited, consumption and purchase by minors is not illegal.[69]

text: Asia[edit]

text:
Country

State/region/province

De jure

Notes

Drinking age

Purchase age

 Afghanistan

Illegal[70]

 Bangladesh

(Illegal for Muslims.)[71]

Alcohol will be sold to foreigners in certain locations, albeit clandestinely.[citation needed]

 Bhutan

18[72]

 Brunei

17 with restrictions, unless Muslim[42]

Non-Muslims over 17 years of age are allowed to import alcohol not to exceed maximum total volume 2 liters of liquor and 12 cans of beer at 330 ml for personal use, once in 48 hours. This alcohol must be “stored and consumed at the place of residence of the importer” and is “not to be given, transferred or sold to another person.”.[42]

 Cambodia

None[73]

 China

Only selling alcohol to minors under the age of 18 is prohibited, consumption by minors is not illegal.[42]

Introduced in January 2006.[74]

 Hong Kong

18[75]

The regulation is only applicable to restaurants, bars and clubs, where a liquor license is required. Private drinking is also not regulated.[citation needed]

 India

18–25 (varies by jurisdiction)[42]

Main article: Alcohol laws of IndiaConsumption of alcohol is illegal in the states of Bihar, Gujarat and Nagaland.[76]

 Indonesia

21[77]

 Iran

Illegal [42]

There is a ban on alcohol, but religious minorities may purchase small amounts from shops owned by the same religious minority.[78]

 Iraq

Illegal[79]

 Israel

None

18[42]

Israel law prohibits selling or serving alcohol to minors, but it does not prohibit minors to drink, although the police may confiscate alcoholic drinks consumed by minors in public.[citation needed]

 Japan

20[42]

 Jordan

18[80]

 Kazakhstan

21[81]

 Kuwait

Illegal[82]

 Kyrgyzstan

18[42]

 Lebanon

18[42]

Often unenforced and according to a global school health study, 40% of minors over 13 drink alcohol and up to 25% buy it from stores.[83]

 Macau

None[84]

 Malaysia

21

Increased from 18 to 21 in December 2017.[85]

 Maldives

Illegal except for tourists, 18[citation needed]

Sale of alcohol is limited to tourist resorts. It is illegal to sell alcohol to local Maldivians[86]

 Mongolia

18[87]

 Myanmar

None

18[88]

   Nepal

18

The legal age for consumption of alcohol in Nepal is 18. However, there are exceptions to underage consumption for purposes of religious ceremonies.[citation needed]

 North Korea

18[89]

 Oman

21

Residents need personal liquor licenses to consume alcohol in their private residences.[90][91]

 Pakistan

Illegal (18 for non-Muslims) [42]

Non-Muslim citizens may possess alcohol to be used in accordance with religious ceremonies[42]

 Palestinian Authority

16[citation needed]

Legal in most cities.[citation needed]

 Philippines

18[92]

 Qatar

Illegal[citation needed]

Muslims are allowed to purchase alcohol, but generally not allowed to consume. Non Muslims are allowed to purchase, and consume alcohol. The only legal distributor of alcohol in the country is the Qatar Distribution Company located in Doha.[citation needed]

 Saudi Arabia

Illegal

Drinking or possessing alcohol is illegal in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Persons who drink or possess alcohol are subject to arrest and trial. Punishments range from heavy fines, lengthy prison terms and whippings.[citation needed]

 Singapore

None (private places, sometimes with permission from parents/guardian)18 (public places e.g. bars and restaurants)

18[42]

For convenience stores, those who pretend to be 18 years and above in a "Challenge 18" scheme will be downgraded to "Challenge 21" scheme, and after which the licences will be revoked once they pretend to be 18 years and above if it is on "Challenge 21".[citation needed]. It is illegal to purchase alcohol in Singapore or consume in a nightclub/allow entry to the nightclub under 18. Home and private drinking of alcohol is allowed, although the safest age could be 6. Parents can try a sip of alcohol at any age.[citation needed]

 South Korea

None

19[93]

The age limit for alcohol is after January 1 of the year one's age turns to 19.[93]

 Sri Lanka

21[42]

 Syria

18[citation needed]

 Taiwan

18[94]

It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to consume alcohol.[95]
Parents, guardians, and others taking care of people under 18 shall prohibit underage drinking,[96] or risk administrative fines of 10000 to 50000 new Taiwan dollars when the situations are serious.[97]
One shall not supply alcohol to anyone under the age of 18.[98] A violator shall be administratively fined 3000 to 15000 New Taiwan Dollars.[99]

 Tajikistan

18[42]

 Thailand

20[100]

The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act of 2008 increased the drinking age in Thailand from 18 to 20, private drinking is not regulated in private locations.[100][101]

 Turkmenistan

18[42]

 United Arab Emirates

18–21 (varies by jurisdiction)[102]

Expatriate non-Muslim residents may request a liquor permit to purchase alcoholic beverages, but it is illegal for such holders to provide drinks to others.[103]
The legal age for drinking alcohol is 18 in Abu Dhabi (although a Ministry of Tourism by-law allows hotels to serve alcohol only to those over 21), and 21 in Dubai and the Northern Emirates (except Sharjah, where drinking alcohol is illegal).[102]
It is a punishable offence to drink, or to be under the influence of alcohol, in public.[102]

 Uzbekistan

None

20[42]

 Vietnam

18[42]

 Yemen

Illegal[citation needed]

Exception is in Aden Region where it's legal for 21 and up[citation needed]

text: Europe[edit]

text: Most countries within Europe have set 18 as the minimum age to purchase alcohol. Although Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Serbia and Switzerland (except Ticino) maintain a minimum purchase age below 18 years permitting minors either full or limited access to alcohol. In 2005,[104] 2007[105] and  recently in 2015[106] the European Union has failed to enact a law forcing member states to raise their purchase age to 18 years. But in the past years several European countries have raised their drinking/purchase age or enacted laws restricting the access to alcohol for minors:

text:
In 2002 the autonomous communities Madrid,[107] Valencia[108] and Catalonia[109] raised their minimum purchase age to 18 years. Previous to 2002 Valencia and Madrid had a minimum purchase age of 16 years, and in Catalonia minors aged 16 or 17 could purchase alcohol up to 23% ABV on and off premises.
In 2004 Denmark[110] raised its off premises purchase age from 15 to 16 years.
In November 2005 Switzerland passed its "Food and Commodities Regulation"[111] (German: Lebensmittel- und Gebrauchsgegenständeverordnung), introducing a ban on alcohol sales to anyone under the age of 16, although the 1980 passed "Alcohol Law"[112] (German: Alkoholgesetz) already required a minimum age of 18 years for the retail sale of distilled spirits. Therefore, it is illegal to sell fermented alcohol (e.g. beer, wine, sparkling wine or cider) to anyone under the age of 16, and any distilled alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years. Further the canton of Ticino introduced a cantonal law in 1989 banning all alcohol sales to anyone under the age of 18 years.[113]
In 2006 the autonomous communitie Castile and León[114] raised its minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 years.
In late 2006, Gibraltar[115] lawmakers passed the "Children and Young Persons (Alcohol, Tobacco and Gaming) Act 2006", which raised the minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 years. But the new law made an exception: minors aged 16 or 17 can purchase and consume on premises beer, wine or cider under 15% ABV or pre-packed containers of an alcoholic strength not exceeding 5.5% ABV (e.g. alcopops).
In 2009 France[116] raised its minimum purchase age to 18 years, and fines were increased for selling or serving alcohol to a minor (up to 7,500 €). Previous to 2009 the minimum age to purchase any alcohol from off licensed premises was 16 years. In order to purchase alcohol on premises the minimum age was 16 years for low alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, cider, perry, mead, crème de cassis and juices from fermented fruits or vegetables that contain 1.2 to 3° alcohol, natural sweet wines from controlled cultivation – to purchase or be served stronger alcoholic drinks one had to be 18 years of age.
In October 2009, the government of Malta[117] passed a new law raising its drinking and purchase age from 16 to 17 years.
In 2010 the autonomous community of Galicia raised its minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 years.[118]
In 2011 Denmark[119] passed a new law, raising the minimum age for off-premises sale of alcohol >16.5% ABV to 18 years of age. The age to purchase alcohol <16.5% ABV remaines at 16.
Italy raised its minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 in 2012. Previously Italy did not have a purchase age for off-premises sales, and the minimum age of 16 years for on premises sales was barely enforced.[120]
In 2013 the government of Portugal restricted alcohol sales to young people: distilled spirits can not be sold to anyone under the age of 18, and other alcohol (e.g. beer, wine or cider) can't be sold to anyone under the age of 16. Previously the minimum age for all kinds of alcoholic beverages was 16 years.[121]
As of 1 January 2014, the minimum legal purchase and consumption age was raised from 16 to 18 in the Netherlands. Previously young people over the age of 16 could purchase and consume alcohol <15% ABV, and adults aged 18 and over could purchase alcohol over 15% ABV.[122]
As of March 2015, the autonomous community of Asturias raised its drinking age from 16 to 18 years. Asturias was Spain's last community with a drinking age of 16 years. The new law brings the drinking age into line with the rest of Spain.[123]
As of 1 January 2018, Lithuania raised its minimum drinking age from 18 to 20 years.[124]

text:
Country

State/region/province

De jure

Notes

Drinking age

Purchase age

 Albania

18[42]

 Andorra

18[91]

 Armenia

None[125]

18[125]

There are no laws mandating alcohol vendors to ID potential underage drinkers. ID checks are very rarely, if ever, carried out[125]

 Austria

 Burgenland  Lower Austria Vienna

16

[126]

 Carinthia Upper Austria Salzburg Styria Tyrol Vorarlberg

16 (beer, wine and cider)18 (distilled beverages)

Carinthia also requires adolescents to maintain a blood alcohol level below 0.05%.[126]

 Azerbaijan

None[127]

18[127]

It is illegal to sell or serve alcohol to a minor under 18 years of age.[127]

 Belarus

None[128]

18[128]

The law prohibits the sale of alcohol to anyone under the age of 18 years. However, the law is rarely enforced.[128]

 Belgium

None[129]

16 (beer, wine and cider) 18 (spirits)[129]

Since 10 January 2010, it is illegal to "sell, serve, or offer" any form of distilled alcohol to those under the age of 18 or any alcoholic drink to those under 16. So fermented drinks like beer or wine are permitted above 16.[129] Previously, it was illegal to sell alcoholic drinks to under-16s, but accompanying adults could buy drinks for them.

 Bosnia and Herzegovina

None[130]

18[130]

Selling alcohol to a minor under the age of 18 years is an offence. The law does not prohibit minors from buying, attempting to buy or consuming alcohol.[130]

 Bulgaria

None[131]

18[131]

By law, it is illegal to serve or sell alcohol to any child under the age of 18. There is no restrictions for minors consuming alcohol.[131]

 Croatia

None[132]

18[132]

It is prohibited to sell or serve alcohol to anyone under 18 years of age. There is no minimum age to buy or consume alcohol by law.[132]

 Cyprus

None[133]

17[133]

It is illegal to sell or serve alcohol to anyone under the age of 17 years. There is no minimum age to buy, attempt to buy or consume alcohol in public.[133]

 Czech Republic

None

18[134]

It is illegal to provide alcohol to minors[135] (punishable by fine or up to 1[136] or 2[137] year(s) imprisonment). Consumption itself is not prohibited by law.[138]

 Denmark

None

16 (<16.5% ABV)  18 (≥16.5% ABV)

While there is no age requirement for drinking alcohol in Denmark, there are laws that prevent minors from buying alcohol:
In order to buy alcohol above 1.2% and below 16.5% ABV in stores, one must be 16 years of age.
In order to buy alcohol above 16.5% ABV in stores, one must be 18 years of age.[139]
By tradition, youths are privately allowed to drink alcohol after their confirmation.[140] If a shop or bar fails to ask for an ID card and is identified having sold alcohol to an underage, it is subject to fine. A national ID card, obtained in the local town hall, can serve as age verification.[141] This card is rarely used though since a passport or drivers license is more commonly used.[142]
Both the legal drinking and purchasing age in the Faroe Islands is 18.[citation needed]

 Estonia

18[143]

It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years. Alcohol found in possession of any child can be confiscated by the police.

 Finland

18 (possession and purchase of 1.2–22% ABV)20 (for possession and purchase of 23–80% ABV)18 (for all in bars, clubs and restaurants)[144]

All major grocery chains have implemented a policy to ask for ID if the customer looks under 30.[145] Stores may refuse to sell alcohol if the customer is accompanied by a minor, or if proxy purchasing is suspected.  Purchasing alcohol on behalf of a minor is a criminal offence.[144][146]
Police may search minors in public places and confiscate or destroy any alcoholic beverages in their possession. Incidents are reported to the legal guardian and social authorities, who may intervene with child welfare procedures. In addition, those aged 15 or above are subject to a fine.[147]
In private, offering alcohol to a minor is considered a criminal offence if it results in drunkenness and the act can be deemed reprehensible as a whole, considering the minor's age, degree of maturity and other circumstances.[144]

 France

None

18

France has no explicitly stated consumption age,[148] but selling alcohol to a minor (under 18) is illegal[149] and can be fined 7500 euros.[148] This age was raised from 16 to 18 in 2009.[150][151]

 Georgia

None[152]

18[152]

By Georgian law, the sale of alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years is prohibited.[152]

 Germany

14(beer, wine and cider if accompanied)16 (beer, wine and cider)18 (spirits and aliments containing spirits above negligible amounts)[153]

It is illegal to sell, serve or supply fermented alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, cider and sparkling wine) to anyone under 16 years of age. However this age limit drops down to 14 if a minor is accompanied by his parent or legal guardian. It is generally illegal to serve, sell or supply any beverage containing spirits and aliments containing spirits above negligible amounts, to anyone under the age of 18 years. Violation of the "Protection of Young Persons Act" can be fined up to €50.000.See also: Alcohol laws in Germany

 Gibraltar

None[154]

1816 (beer, wine and cider)[154]

It is illegal to sell alcoholic drinks to anyone under the age of 18, other than the following two exceptions. The minimum age to be served in licensed premises is 16 if:[154]
The alcoholic beverage is beer, wine or cider below 15% ABV, or
The alcoholic beverage is served in a bottle, or a pre-packaged container below 5.5% ABV.

 Greece

None[155]

18[155]

In 2008, the consumption of alcoholic beverages was prohibited for minors in public. However, the law does not apply to private events or private premises.[155]

 Hungary

18[42]

 Iceland

None

20[156]

Possession or consumption of alcohol by minors is not an offence, but supplying them with alcohol is.

 Ireland

None (on private residence with permission from parents or guardians)[157]

18[157]

It is illegal for minors to buy alcohol or for a third party to attempt to buy it for minors. It is illegal to purchase alcohol for anybody under the age of consent without permission from their guardians.[158]

 Italy

None [159]

18[160][159]

In 2012 the then Health Minister Renato Balduzzi proposed to raise the age to 18.[159] Selling alcohol to those under the age of 18 in shops carries a fine between €250 and €1000. Serving alcoholic beverages to those under the age of 16 is a criminal offense and is punished with prison up to one year, if the individual is 16 or 17 it will be treated as an offense that is fined between €250 and €1000 (Legge n. 189/2013).

 Kosovo

None[citation needed]

 Latvia

None[161]

18[161]

It is illegal to sell or serve alcoholic beverages to any minor under the age of 18 years. There is no minimum age to consume or possess alcohol.[161]

 Liechtenstein

16 beer, wine and cider18 spirits and spirit-based beverages[162]

Wine, beer and ciders as well as some other party drinks sometimes without spirits may be purchased by the age of 16. Spirits as well as alcopops may be sold only to people at least 18.[162]

 Lithuania

20[124]

It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 20 years. Persons under the age of 20 are prohibited from consuming alcoholic beverages or from possessing them. The minimum age was raised from 18 to 20 since 2018.[124]

 Luxembourg

None [163]

16[163]

It is illegal to sell or serve alcoholic beverages >1.2% ABV to any person under the age of 16 years. Violation is fined €251 to €1.000.[163]

 Macedonia

18[164]

Must show an ID card upon request. In certain smaller places, such as family-owned convenience stores and street kiosks, there is little to no enforcement on how old or young somebody purchases alcohol. There is little to no enforcement for drinking privately, but drinking in bars may require an ID.

 Malta

17[165]

Must provide identification upon request.

 Moldova

None[166]

18[166]

It is illegal to sell, or serve alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is not illegal for minors to buy, attempt to buy or consume alcohol. The minimum purchase age was raised from 16 to 18 in 2012.[167][166]

 Montenegro

18[citation needed]

 Netherlands

18

The legal age for purchasing and consumption of alcoholic beverages was raised from 16 to 18 since 2014. Alcohol is commonly available upon parental permission. Selling alcoholic beverages to people under 18 is illegal, buying alcoholic beverages for someone else under the age of 18 is also illegal.[citation needed]

 Norway

None[168]

18 (<22%)  20 (≥22% ABV)[42]

Selling alcohol to or buying alcohol for minors is illegal. Minors are defined as under 18 for beer and wine, under 20 for drinks that contain 22% ABV or more. Minors who buy alcohol are not held criminally responsible; instead, the crime lies with those who sold it or obtained it for them.
Alcohol with more than 60% ABV is generally not sold in Norway, although exceptions may be made by the government for specific products.[169]
Alcohol possessed by minors may be confiscated as evidence. Drinking in public is prohibited, though this is rarely enforced in recreational areas.[170]

 Poland

None[171]

18[171]

Article 15 of The Act on Upbringing in Sobriety and Counteracting Alcoholism[172] clearly states that buyers or persons being served must be at least 18 and prove it with ID if they look like they may not be at least that age. There is no mention of consumption age in this or any other act in Poland. Drinking in public places, with the exception of designated drinking zones, is illegal regardless of age.

 Portugal

None[173]

18[173]

 Romania

None

18[174]

According to law 61/1991 updated in 2008, paragraphs 21-25, it is illegal to serve or sell alcohol to minors.

 Russia

None

18[175]

There is no law or regulation in Russia that prohibits minors from consuming alcohol, but selling alcohol to minors is prohibited by federal and additional regional laws.

 San Marino

16[91]

 Serbia

None

16[176]

 Slovakia

18[177]

 Slovenia

None

18[178]

There is no law regulating the possession and consumption, but it is illegal to sell or offer alcohol of any kind to minors.

 Spain

18

Asturias was the last autonomous community in Spain where the drinking age was increased to 18 (previously 16) on 1 May 2015.[179]

 Sweden

None

None (less than 2.25% ABV)
18 (bars and restaurants)
18 (2.25%–3.5% ABV in food shops)
20 (Systembolaget shops),[180]

See also: Alcohol in SwedenIt is legal for anyone at any age to drink, but it is illegal to supply anyone under the age of 20, any beverage containing more than 3.5%ABV, and supply anyone under the age of 18 beer containing more than 2.25%ABV, except in a venue licensed to sell alcohol, who are allowed to sell alcohol to anyone over 18. It is also legal to serve an underage person alcohol in a private place, provided it's a limited amount and done in moderation.[181]  The reason for lower limit in bars than in Systembolaget shops is that bartenders have a legal responsibility for how drunk a guest gets.

  Switzerland

  Switzerland (federal law)

None(See notes)

16 (fermented alcoholic drinks with less than 15% ABV and natural wines with less than 18% ABV)[182] 18 (spirits) [183]

Whoever offers or supplies alcoholic beverages to a child under the age of 16 years in an amount which is harmful to one's health is punished with imprisonment up to 3 years or a fine.[184] Whoever sells or supplies spirits to a person under the age of 18 years is punished with a fine up to 10.000 CHF.[185]

 Ticino

18

The canton Ticino prohibits selling and consumption of any type of alcohol by minors under the age of 18. Some shops and supermarkets may not sell alcohol to minors under the age of 18.[186]

 Turkey

18[42]

See also: Alcohol laws of Turkey

 Ukraine

18[42]

 United Kingdom

 England   Wales

18[187]16 (beer, wine or cider with meal)[187]5 (private)[188]None (under medical supervision, or in an emergency)[188]

Legislation in  England and  Wales:
It is illegal to sell, serve, offer or consume alcoholic beverages on licensed premises under the age of 18, other than the following two exceptions:[187]
Minors aged 16 or 17 may consume wine, beer or cider on licensed premises when ordered with a meal, and accompanied by an adult.[187]
It is legal to sell liqueur confectionery to someone of any age.
It is illegal to permit minors under the age of 5 to consume alcoholic beverages unless under medical supervision or in an emergency.[188]
Persons over 17 are entitled to their own duty free allowance, which includes alcohol.[189]

 Scotland

1816 (beer, wine or cider on licensed premises with meal)[190]None (private)

Legislation in  Scotland:
It is illegal to sell, serve, offer or consume alcoholic beverages in public under the age of 18, other than the following two exceptions:[191]
Minors aged 16 or 17 may consume wine, beer or cider on licensed premises when ordered with a meal.[191]
It is legal to sell liqueur confectionery to someone of any age.
Persons over 17 are entitled to their own duty free allowance, which includes alcohol.[189]

 Northern Ireland

18

Legislation in Northern Ireland:
It is illegal to sell, serve, offer or consume alcoholic beverages in public under the age of 18.

 United Kingdom

Challenge 21 and Challenge 25 (applies to all of the  United Kingdom)

Under the BBPA's Challenge 21 and Challenge 25 schemes, customers attempting to buy alcoholic beverages are asked to prove their age if in the retailer's opinion they look under 21[192] (or optionally 25) even though the law states they must be a minimum of 18. Many supermarket and off-licence chains display Challenge 21 (or Challenge 25) notices stating that they will not serve persons who look under 21 (or 25) without ID.

text: Oceania[edit]

text:
Country

State/region/province

De jure

Notes

Drinking age

Purchase age

 American Samoa

21[193]

 Australia

18[42][194]

Main article: Alcohol laws of AustraliaVaries by state. Some states restrict possession and consumption to over 18, all states restrict purchasing to over 18. In some states, minors may consume alcohol in a private residence with parental permission.[195]

 Fiji

18[196]

The drinking age was 21 from 2006 to 2009 but was lowered to 18 in 2009.[196]

 Guam

21[197]

 Micronesia, Federated States of

18[198]

 New Zealand

None
18[199]

Minimum age applies for beverages with 1.15% ABV or over; no restrictions on beverages less than 1.15% ABV.[200]Persons under 18 may drink outside private residences or private functions if accompanied by their parent or legal guardian. Alcohol may be supplied to minors only by, or with express consent from, their parent or legal guardian.[201]

 Northern Mariana Islands

21[202]

 Palau

21[203]

It is illegal to sell or serve any alcoholic beverage to a person under 21 years of age. Minors may access a bar or licensed premises only if accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Minors buying, consuming or attempting to buy alcohol are committing an offence. The law provides an exception for the consumption of alcohol by minors as part of a religiously recognized ceremony.[203]

 Papua New Guinea

18[citation needed]

It is illegal for a minor to purchase, consume or attempt to purchase alcoholic beverages. Any licence holder has to ensure that the customer who he sells or serves alcohol to, is at least 18 years of age. Violation of this law is fined.[citation needed]

 Samoa

21[204]

Selling or serving alcohol to a person under the age of twenty-one years is punished with three hundred dollars or imprisonment for nine months or both, a fine and imprisonment.[205]

 Solomon Islands

None[205]

21[205]

Selling or serving alcohol to a person under the age of twenty-one years old is punished with a three hundred dollar fine or imprisonment for nine months or both, a fine and imprisonment.[205]

 Tokelau

18[206]

 Tonga

18[207]

Selling, serving or supplying alcohol to a minor is illegal. It is also illegal for minors to buy, attempt to buy or consume alcohol in any public place and any violation of this law is fined up to $1,000.[207]

 Vanuatu

18[208]

It is unlawful to sell, serve or supply alcohol to any person under the age of 18 years. Violation of the law is fined up to VT 25,000 or by a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 months, or by both, fine and imprisonment. Any minor under the age of 18 years, being found in possession or consumption of alcohol is fined up to VT 10,000.[208]