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.
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.
🇫🇷 France and 4 morePicnic
A meal taken outdoors in a park or scenic spot, often shared with friends and family.Festival · 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
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreMaslenitsaМасленица
A seven-day Eastern Slavic festival of pancakes and bonfires marking the end of winter before Lent.Festival · 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
🇳🇴 NorwayJul
An eight-week Norwegian midwinter season of feasts, family gatherings, and gift-givingSeasonal · Lunch
🇩🇰 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
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Picnic: Thomas Cole, Public domain, source
- Maslenitsa: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Siesta: Vincent van Gogh, Public domain, source
- Cicchetti: Benreis, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ferragosto: Ra Boe, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Jul: Erik Christensen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Julebord: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Smorgasbord: Jordan Klein, CC BY 2.0, source