Lunch

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.