Breakfast
How the day is opened: the first gathering, the blessing, the first drink for a guest.
Breakfast pages here are about the customs that open the day, not the menu. Who sits down first, whether grace or a greeting comes before the first bite, whether the household eats together or in shifts, and which first drink is poured for a guest are the things that differ most from place to place. For what is actually cooked and eaten, see Thali, our food guide.
The first gathering
In many homes breakfast is the one time the household is certain to meet. Some families wait for the eldest to start, some begin with a blessing or a short prayer, and in several cultures a guest staying overnight is served before anyone else. In others breakfast is solitary and quick, and the custom is simply to leave the table tidy for the next person.
Weekend and festival mornings
A slow weekend breakfast with extended family, an Eid morning visit, a New Year's first meal eaten in a set order, or the meal that ends a Lenten fast all carry their own rules. These customs mark the day more than the table does, and they are the ones people remember and hand down.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Breakfast (meal). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 4 moreKopitiam
A neighbourhood coffee shop where Southeast Asians share meals, drinks and newsTable custom · Breakfast
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia and 1 moreJounen Kwéyòl
A day of Creole food, music and dress in Saint Lucia and Dominica, kept each OctoberFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreMaslenitsaМасленица
A seven-day Eastern Slavic festival of pancakes and bonfires marking the end of winter before Lent.Festival · Breakfast
🇨🇳 Shanghai, China and 1 moreJiaozi餃子
Crescent Chinese dumplings filled with meat or vegetables, eaten for fortune and feastsTable custom · Breakfast
🇸🇪 Stockholm, Sweden and 4 moreSaint Lucy's Day
A December festival of light and song held across Scandinavia and Italy to honour a Christian martyr.Festival · Breakfast
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaeboreum대보름
A Korean festival of the first lunar full moon, marked by fires, wishes and feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreLebaranHari Raya Lebaran
Indonesia's festive season of homecoming, seeking forgiveness and shared feastsFestival · Breakfast
🇮🇳 IndiaMagh Bihu
A harvest festival of bonfires, feasts and winter games in AssamSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇱🇰 Sri LankaKiribathකිරිබත්
Rice cooked in coconut milk, the dish of Sinhalese New Year and family beginningsTable custom · Breakfast
🇨🇳 Guangzhou, China and 1 moreDim sum點心 (traditional Chinese), 点心 (simplified Chinese)
Small dishes shared with tea, eaten as brunch in Cantonese teahouses and restaurantsTable custom · Breakfast
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreYum cha飲茶
A Cantonese breakfast of dim sum and tea, eaten slowly in large groupsTable custom · Breakfast
🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 5 moreSuhurسحور
The pre-dawn meal Muslims eat before a day of fasting in RamadanTable custom · Breakfast
🇹🇷 Van, TurkeyTurkish breakfastkahvaltı
A long, shared Turkish morning meal of many small dishes, sweet and savoury, with teaTable custom · Breakfast
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 3 moreBanitsaБаница
A layered Bulgarian cheese pastry baked for morning meals and holiday fortunesTable custom · Breakfast
🇹🇷 Istanbul, Turkey and 5 moreSimit
A sesame-encrusted ring bread sold by street vendors across Turkey and the former Ottoman lands.Table custom · Breakfast
🇻🇳 Saigon, Vietnam and 5 moreBánh mì
A Vietnamese baguette sandwich filled with meats, pickles, herbs, and condiments.Table custom · Breakfast
🇵🇱 PolandEaster in Poland
A spring holiday of family breakfasts, blessed baskets, decorated eggs, and water games.Festival · Breakfast
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKoulourakiaΚουλουράκια
Sweet butter pastries baked for Greek Easter and shaped into rings and braidsTable custom · Sweets given and shared
🇻🇳 Hanoi, Vietnam and 5 morePhophở
A Vietnamese noodle soup of broth and rice noodles, served hot with beef or chicken.Table custom · Breakfast
🇮🇱 IsraelKiddushקידוש
A blessing over wine or grape juice that marks Shabbat and festivals as holySpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Saint Lucy's Day: Fredrik Magnusson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Turkish breakfast: MustafaERTAN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maslenitsa: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jiaozi: Bioniclepluslotr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Daeboreum: hojusaram, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Lebaran: Nurudin Jauhari, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Banitsa: Sheku80, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Simit: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bánh mì: Andrea Nguyen, CC BY 2.0, source
- Easter in Poland: Silar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Magh Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kopitiam: Chongkian, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Koulourakia: foodistablog, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pho: Phương Huy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kiddush: Dimitri, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kiribath: AntanO, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dim sum: Kolumbusjogger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yum cha: Infomofo, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Suhur: Hussein Alazaat, CC BY 2.0, source