taken from https://guidetoiceland.is/history-culture/the-10-weirdest-things-about-icelanders
For a country where the inhabitants LOVE their alcohol, it comes as a surprise that beer was banned in the whole country up until the 1st of March 1989. As a consequence, people still 'celebrate' the 1st of March each year by drinking a few pints of this liquid gold.
As a sidenote, alcohol can still only be purchased in ÁTVR or more commonly known as 'Ríkið' - a state-owned liquor store. Beware, the only traffic jam you will find in Iceland nowadays is in front of Ríkið on late Friday afternoons. (The only real traffic jam that has ever happened in the country was on the 17th of June 1994 when Independence Day celebrations took place at Þingvellir and people were stuck in traffic for hours).
(, Tue 28 Jun 2016, 15:23, Reply)