Meal
Meal ( solemn and ancient: meal ) is now called generally the taking of food - food and drink - at certain times of the day, often in collaboration with others. The main meals are in Europe and North America breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In addition, often between meals are taken, the more the character of a snack. In other cultural areas sometimes only two meals per day are common.
In German dictionary of the Brothers Grimm, the term meal is derived from the time stamp for a banquet, was invited. The meaning was then reduced to the taking of food and drinks, so actually the meal.
A main meal is in western culture today often made of vegetables or salad, a side dish like potatoes and a protein-rich food such as meat, eggs or fish. However, there are numerous variations of this scheme.
In Latin countries, the main hot meal usually consists of one or more starters, a main course and a dessert or cheese as a conclusion.
History
In Europe there is no single meals scheme. In Germany, spread to the Middle Ages gradually the habit of, three instead of two meals a day take. The first breakfast in the morning was for the simple population already 4-6 clock instead and consisted of soup and bread. Was eaten for lunch by 10 or 11 clock, the dinner there were around 18 or 19 clock. The nobility was limited at that time, along with two meals; he had breakfast after morning Mass and took the main meal in the afternoon at 15 or 16 clock, which could be very rich. Beginning of the 18th century deals in the upper classes by three meals and lunch was served by 13 clock, while the common people already ate by 12 clock.
In England the nobility led in modern times, however, four to five meals a day: breakfast 7-9 clock, a second breakfast ( lunch ) around 12 or 13 clock to 16 or 17 clock then tea with bread and butter ( Afternoontea ) and a warm meal ( dinner ) in the evening 18-20 clock. Later you can follow with tea or a snack.
Current Development
In the early 1990s, most Germans took three meals daily, usually in the morning 6-8, afternoon and evening 12-14 18-20 clock. Breakfast and dinner shift often time at the weekend, while the time for lunch unchanged. On average, 80 minutes were spent eating daily. For professionals, a tendency to take the hot main meal until the evening. Even if you are traveling on vacation on foot or with a vehicle, the main hot meal often shifts to the evening. In Sweden, the relocation of the main meal in the evening has meant that now the dinner is called middag.
In the 1980s, gave only eight percent of the surveyed families to take all meals together, at 20 percent, there was no common meals. "The more finished products are used, the less a meal is perceived as family meals: the preparation process is considered, proof of love '. "
Mid-1990s, 82 percent of the hot main meals were not taken at home, in 2001 there were only 66 percent. It is increasingly eaten in cafeterias, fast food restaurants, but also bakeries and butchers serve meals. Mainly young people 19-25 years often eat away from home.
Social significance
Sociologically meals is attributed to an important social function that goes far beyond the purely physical saturation. "(...) They are primary Sozialisationsort for teaching social ideas of eating and drinking and of social intercourse with food. (...) Within the family, the community table is a central symbol of togetherness (...) ". An elaborately prepared meal is also often implicitly understood as a form of attention and thus has more symbolic meaning. In addition, the meal is a framework for a part of the education of children, especially the demonstration of good behavior.
"The traditional model ( in Germany, erg ) was, until the late 1980s, the warm ( lunch ) meal at home, cooked and served for the family of the housewife. " This tradition gradually dissolves in Germany ( and other countries ) on, sociologists speak of increasing " situational eating in everyday life" to not set times and no longer limited to the dining table. " For children and young people eating together is partly an annoying obligation and is perceived as a place of confinement or forced (...)".
Anthropological research has shown that there are certain rules for meals in every society. Especially Mary Douglas has dealt with this issue and published in 1975 the essay Deciphering a Meal ( deciphering a meal). There are also important works of anthropologist Claude Lévi -Strauss on this topic. In contrast to drinks that are often offered to strangers, meals are limited to a specific group of people, and before participating outsider an explicit invitation must be imposed. In all known ethnic groups, the preparation of daily meals is traditionally a task of women.
" Meal " as a greeting
" Meal " is often used, especially in the western areas of Germany and in Austria at lunch time as scarce greeting. The origin of this custom is a short form of the earlier common greeting " Blessed meal ". The shortening was already in the 19th century common as can be read in the Brothers Grimm dictionary, the meaning of blessing has been largely lost today. The term " meal " is difficult to translate into other languages. In colloquial to use this expression when you (usually in business matters ) meets at noon. It is often used when leaving to and from the lunch break. A comparison with " Bon Appetit " is therefore too simplistic and does not push out exactly what is meant when people greet each other briefly and succinctly with " meal ".
In northern Germany, the greeting " meal " is used increasingly throughout the day as a generic welcome as a "hello" among acquaintances. In the business area, this kind of salutation by the implication of the personal level is frowned upon. In contrast to the derived from the Low German " Moin ", " Moin Moin " or " Hi there " this greeting is used by the Low German unconnected layers.
Similarly, the " meal " Greeting is also outside the North German area in the morning and throughout the regular daily service time used in the army, perhaps because getting a meal, at least in the short period is actually (breakfast, NATO - break, lunch, dinner).
Also detected in Grimm is the ironic use of the formula " blessed meal time" or " cheers meal " meaning " nothing there " or " on the contrary ", among other things, used by Friedrich Schiller Wallenstein's Camp.
In Switzerland, this greeting is not used. However, it is lunchtime usual that one similar to the German meal for adoption when leaving work just to Swiss German En Dumaguete! ( Bon Appetit ) says.