When do you serve lunch?

For anyone who has travelled around the United States, it is not uncommon to have the mid-day meal referred to by a variety of different names. Most folks in the southern states refer to the midday meal as either lunch or dinner. What is the difference?


Well both meals occur at the noon hour, so how could you tell one from the other?

I have always been a bit confused about this difference in terminology and so I went to that bastion of knowledge, the Merriam Webster dictionary (on line version).

Lunch
Etymology: probably short for luncheon
Date: 1812
1: a
usually light meal ; especially : one taken in the middle of the day

Dinner
Etymology: Middle English diner, from Anglo-French disner,
diner meal, from disner to dine
Date: 13th century
1 a: the principal
meal of the day b: a formal feast or banquet

Supper
Etymology:
Middle English soper, from Anglo-French super, from super to
sup

Date: 13th century
1 a: the evening
meal especially when dinner is taken at midday b: a social affair featuring a
supper ; especially : an evening social especially for raising funds
2:
the food served as a supper 3: a light meal served late in the evening

Well that seems to clear things up nicely now doesn’t it.

So if you drop by the clinic and catch me in the middle of the day eating a sandwich at my desk, then you have stopped by for lunch. However, if you find me at home on the weekend and we are having grilled chicken and oven vegetables then it is likely that you have come for dinner. Clearly when you come by in the evening we are having supper no matter the form or content of the meal.

This all seems perfectly clear until I went to the local Masonic lodge meeting. Lodge get’s started at 8 pm, and afterward they have a small light meal. During the meeting we talked about an upcoming event that was to take place in the evening in two weeks. We were going to have a speaker and everyone was talking about the timing of the lunch break. I must admit I was confused about the timing of the events. It was clear to me I had misunderstood when things were going to be taking place, and I was a bit sad since I clearly could attend since it would take place around lunch. It was all very confusing to me since everyone was clearly referring to an evening meeting (the lodge will open at 7:30 pm and the speaker will start at 8:15 and we will break for lunch at 8:45).

My confusion deepened when at the end of the lodge meeting they asked me to stay for some lunch. Understand the time was 9:30 pm, and I had already had supper with Nancy earlier that day, and lunch had consisted of a sandwich and some havarti cheese in the clinic around noontime. I stayed because my curiosity was high, and in very short order small sandwiches appeared as did small cookies and cakes and everyone sat down and had a social gathering over this meal with tea and coffee.

As I left that night, I figured that this was just one of the crazy local things. They referred to the morning meal as breakfast, everyone seemed to refer to the midday meal as dinner, and the evening as supper. This makes obvious the idea that the cafeteria served a hot dinner at noon (i.e. something freshly cooked and warm such as seven layer dinner), and a cold supper at 5 pm(i.e. soup, salad, wraps and such). Lunch must be when you have sandwiches. However, I have come to find out from very reliable sources that lunch has no real time and instead refers to the meal that occurs after an evening of socialization.

It does not refer to a light meal as Mr Webster implies, rather on the island it refers to the meal that happens after supper. These meals may be simple such as that of the lodge, or they may be very elaborate happenings. In fact, in the winter when folks seem to socialize more (since the weather does not permit much outside activity) people will gather for cards or some other function. Often a lunch will follow before everyone goes home. When the group convenes next, the hostess will serve something completely different, and often a bit more elaborate than the previous week. By the end of winter these lunches can take on the scope of a rather grand buffet and everyone is leaving the party feeling very full and very happy.

So there you have it, the fourth meal of the day, the meal before bedtime, or the meal when at work. Lunch it is more interesting than you could possibly imagine. Learn more about lunch, supper, and dinner at Wikipedia. You can also see the entire meal series at Wikipedia.