Picnic

A picnic is a meal that is taken outdoors, usually shared in a group. Often a picnic associated with a trip.

Cultural History

The common planned outdoor dining was already known in ancient times. The Greeks had coined the term Eranos, the Romans called it prandium. In the " miracle of the loaves " Jesus Christ commanded the people to store on the grass " and they all ate and were satisfied ." In the Middle Ages travelers dined often forced outside of inns, and in agriculture it was usual, while in between to take a meal break of hours of work in the fields and eat Packed. Also, while a stately hunting a meal was taken in between outdoors. In the Baroque era, the food became popular as a summer outdoor fun in aristocratic circles, particularly in France.

It was for this outdoor dining, however, long time no separate term. The literature sometimes from dining " alfresco ", ie outdoor, talking. In the literature, at least three picnics were described without them are so named before 1800. The oldest known description is included in the Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio. A little later appeared the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. In the 16th century describe manuals about hunting the taking meals outdoors. Oliver Cromwell settled in 1654 serve a dinner in Hyde Park, and the author of Samuel Pepys ate regularly while boating on the Thames.

Particularly popular was the picnic in the subsequent period in England in the so-called Victorian era, as Queen Victoria often dined outdoors. The classic picnic basket containing both food and a blanket, crockery and cutlery, came to the UK in the 19th century. Here was a picnic in any case, the tea, so that before the invention of the thermos often a portable cooking device was taken away.

The picnic is in the UK to this day even in the upper layers of popular and can have the rank of a social event. This is the case for example at the races at Ascot or the tennis tournament at Wimbledon. In the popular sport of cricket in the rules a 20-minute tea break is set, in which a light meal taken outdoors.

Etymology

According to most sources, the word picnic of French origin and came in the 17th century in connection with the aristocratic fashion. It set up of piquer " pick " for and nique for " trifle ". But the British also claim the origin of the term for themselves. As evidence, a letter of the English Lords Chesterfield led to his son in 1748, in which he referred to a meeting as picnic, where it however was not about food. With this meaning, but picnick already appeared in 1738 in a Swedish text.

In Japan, meals are outdoors, especially at the time of the cherry blossom is an old tradition. In the 20th century, the term was taken pikunikku as a loan word in the Japanese language.

Old dictionaries describe picnic something different from its present importance as a common meal in the open air, to which each participant brings his own food.

Others

The most famous depiction of a picnic in the visual arts is Le déjeuner sur l'herbe by Édouard Manet. Connected to the nudism a picnic is also taken naked, as shown in Manet.

The film Picnic won two Oscars in 1955 ( Best Editing, Best Film Set Design).