Years ago my husband and I were tourists in Germany and a friendly German who wanted to practice his English sat down with us. He and my spouse were drinking beer, I was drinking something non-alcoholic. He proposed a toast and raised his glass to clink it with my husband, but when I attempted to join in with my beverage he was shocked - “You can’t toast without alcohol!!!”
Technically I guess that’s the rule but in my circles it gets broken all the time. Increasing public awareness of the perils of excess alcohol consumption and the desire to be supportive of people “on the wagon” probably contributes to greater acceptance of non-alcoholic toasting than there used to be.
