Dinner

The evening meal is where the strictest table customs tend to live: seating, order of serving, who speaks and who stays silent, what is said before eating. These pages gather those customs, from the Japanese phrases said before and after a meal to the Georgian supra with its toastmaster. For the food itself, see Thali.

Seating and order

Many cultures keep a place for the head of the household, serve guests and elders first, or wait until everyone is seated before anyone lifts a spoon. In some, eating is done by hand from shared dishes with rules about which hand and which side of the plate. In others the order of courses, or of toasts, is as fixed as a ceremony.

Words and silences

Saying grace, a blessing, a thanks to the cook or a call to begin is common worldwide. So are the opposite customs: no talking until the meal ends, no phones, no leaving before the elder rises. Dinner is where children learn what their own community counts as good manners.