Lunch
The midday pause: the siesta, the shared table and the carried meal.
Lunch customs are about the midday pause: how long it lasts, who it is shared with and what the rest of the day does around it. This is not a guide to what is on the plate. For dishes and recipes, see Thali.
The pause itself
In Spain, Italy, Ethiopia and much of Latin America the midday meal is the long one, with a rest afterwards. In Japan and Korea it is shorter and often eaten with colleagues, in a set rhythm. In India, tiffin carriers still travel across cities to reach workers at midday, a custom as much as a service. The shape of the pause says a great deal about how a place thinks of work and family.
Carried and shared
Packing a meal for someone is a custom in its own right: a parent's care for a child's lunchbox, a farmer's meal carried to the field, workmates who share from each other's boxes. In many schools a shared midday meal teaches manners, turn-taking and gratitude along with everything else.
About this page
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Lunch (meal). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreTamalada
A gathering where tamales are the main dish or a communal tamale-making party in Mexican and Hispanic cultures.Festival · Lunch
🇫🇷 France and 4 morePicnic
A meal taken outdoors in a park or scenic spot, often shared with friends and family.Festival · Lunch
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBarn raising
A communal tradition where neighbours assemble to erect a farm barn in a few daysCraft · Lunch
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreSiesta
A short afternoon rest or sleep taken after the midday mealHome · Lunch
🇮🇹 Venice, ItalyCicchettiCicheti
A Venetian custom of small counter snacks enjoyed with a glass of local white wineTable custom · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaTemplestay템플스테이
A program that invites visitors to live in South Korean Buddhist temples and join the daily routines of monastic life.Spiritual · Dinner
🇯🇵 Kyoto, Japan and 4 moreHanami花見
A Japanese spring custom of gathering under blooming cherry trees to eat, drink, and celebrate the fleeting beauty of thFestival · Lunch
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreMaslenitsaМасленица
A seven-day Eastern Slavic festival of pancakes and bonfires marking the end of winter before Lent.Festival · Breakfast
🇹🇳 Nabeul, Tunisia and 4 moreHarissaهريسة
A spicy chili pepper paste from Tunisia, used as a condiment and ingredient across North Africa.Table custom · Dinner
🇨🇳 Shanghai, China and 1 moreJiaozi餃子
Crescent Chinese dumplings filled with meat or vegetables, eaten for fortune and feastsTable custom · Breakfast
🇮🇹 Siena, ItalyFerragosto
A public holiday on 15 August marking the Assumption of Mary and the traditional start of the Italian summer break.Festival · Lunch
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanKaiseki懐石
A multi-course Japanese dining tradition shaped by tea ceremonies and the seasonsTable custom · Dinner
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreLebaranHari Raya Lebaran
Indonesia's festive season of homecoming, seeking forgiveness and shared feastsFestival · Breakfast
🇮🇳 Guwahati, IndiaBohag Bihu
A multi-day Assamese New Year festival of cattle rites, music, gifts and feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 IndiaMagh Bihu
A harvest festival of bonfires, feasts and winter games in AssamSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 3 moreSango Festival
An annual Yoruba gathering in Nigeria honoring the deity of thunder and lightningFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreYum cha飲茶
A Cantonese breakfast of dim sum and tea, eaten slowly in large groupsTable custom · Breakfast
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreBento弁当
A single-portion packed meal in a lidded box, carried to school, work or on a trainTable custom · Lunch
🇮🇳 IndiaSadyaസദ്യ
A vegetarian feast from Kerala, served on a banana leaf at Onam, Vishu and weddingsTable custom · Lunch
🇪🇨 Quito, EcuadorFanesca
Ecuador's Holy Week soup of grains, beans and salt cod, made for Good FridayTable custom · Lunch
🇳🇴 NorwayJul
An eight-week Norwegian midwinter season of feasts, family gatherings, and gift-givingSeasonal · Lunch
🇲🇽 Tijuana, Mexico and 1 moreBirria
A rich, seasoned meat stew from western Mexico, cooked for gatherings and holidaysTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇩🇰 DenmarkJul
Winter feasts, carols around the tree, and family gatherings across DenmarkFestival · Lunch
🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreJulebord
A Scandinavian Christmas banquet of traditional dishes, festive drinks and celebrationTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇪 Stockholm, Sweden and 2 moreSmorgasbordsmörgåsbord
A Swedish table of hot and cold dishes where guests serve themselvesTable custom · Lunch
🇻🇳 Hanoi, Vietnam and 5 morePhophở
A Vietnamese noodle soup of broth and rice noodles, served hot with beef or chicken.Table custom · Breakfast
🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreChallahחַלָּה
A braided Jewish bread, blessed and shared at Shabbat and holiday tablesTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 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
🇮🇩 Jakarta, Indonesia and 3 moreRijsttafel
Many small dishes around rice: a colonial-era banquet still served in the NetherlandsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreNativity of Mary
A Christian feast day honouring the birth of Mary, the mother of JesusSpiritual · Lunch
🇮🇶 IraqShabbat mealsסעודות שבת
Three ritual meals eaten across the Jewish Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday nightTable custom · Dinner
🇮🇱 Safed, Israel and 2 moreZemirotזמירות
Jewish table hymns sung during the three meals of Shabbat and holidaysSpiritual · Dinner
🇧🇹 Punakha, BhutanTraditional Day of OfferingBuelwa Phuewi Nyim
A Bhutanese New Year marked by offerings to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal and family feasts.Festival · Breakfast
🇮🇱 IsraelEve of Passover on Shabbatערב פסח
Special Jewish calendar customs when the eve of Passover coincides with the SabbathSeasonal · Dinner
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Eve of Passover on Shabbat: בעלת הזכויות - טלי אמתי, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zemirot: ביקורת, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sadya: Augustus Binu / facebook, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Shabbat meals: Yoninah, Public domain, source
- Picnic: Thomas Cole, Public domain, source
- Hanami: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ferragosto: Ra Boe, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Maslenitsa: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jiaozi: Bioniclepluslotr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lebaran: Nurudin Jauhari, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kaiseki: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sango Festival: Demola Ajayi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Birria: Equipo 9mkt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Barn raising: Alexander W. Galbraith, Public domain, source
- Jul: Erik Christensen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Julebord: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bohag Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Magh Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Siesta: Vincent van Gogh, Public domain, source
- Cicchetti: Benreis, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Templestay: (c)한국불교문화사업단, culturalcorpsofkoreanbuddhism, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Harissa: Ovva olfa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tamalada: Tania Solá (WMMX), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Smorgasbord: Jordan Klein, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pho: Phương Huy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dim sum: Kolumbusjogger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yum cha: Infomofo, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Rijsttafel: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fanesca: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Bento: Blue Lotus, CC BY 2.0, source
- Nativity of Mary: Giotto, Public domain, source