In the United States, there is great confusion over the proper naming of meals. Few people really know the answer to the question, “Is it called supper, or dinner?” Traditionally, in England, where so many of our customs in the U.S. originate, dinner is the meal consumed in the middle of the day and is the most sumptuous and involved. Supper, also referred to as tea, is the last meal of the day, consumed in the evening, and consists of very light fare, such as crumpets, biscuits, teas, and milk-based drinks—perhaps with a bit of cereal.
Dinner is also used to describe the evening meal when it refers to a formal social event, often with dress codes and strict protocols. The menu is usually quite sophisticated. This is where the phrase “to dine” comes from. It means to attend a lavish, feast-type meal, typically with non-family members and guests present, in a formal setting.
The word “supper” comes from the French word souper and was descriptive of the French custom of having a light meal of soup, bread, cheese, and wine in the evening. It is still used to describe this meal in French-Canadian, French-Belgian, and French-Swiss cultures.
Dinner vs. Supper: A Cultural Divide
Whether “supper” or “dinner” is used in modern times is sometimes a function of class distinction or to differentiate between a working-class evening meal with the family and a sumptuous feast for distinguished guests. Supper is used for an informal family meal served in the kitchen or dining room, while dinner refers to a formal meal with guests, a dress code, protocols, your best china, etc.
The biblical “Last” or “Lord’s Supper” was called that (although not in the scriptures themselves) because it was the last meal of the day and consisted of very light and simple fare, such as bread, wine, and maybe a little cheese. This was the basis for the start of Holy Communion, or the Eucharist, which involves a bread-based wafer and a sip of wine or juice, symbolic of Jesus’s last meal.
Dinner usually involves more preparation, with more involved dishes being served, such as soufflés, steaks, and other fine dining fare. This is why intimate outings with a member of the opposite sex, with possible romantic aspirations, are referred to as “dinner dates.” The object is to impress your date with your knowledge of culinary arts and good taste, rather than just nourishment. By contrast, married couples, good friends, and family members often go out for supper, usually enjoying burgers, hot dogs, or other fun foods, where the goal is fellowship and satisfying hunger.
So, traditionally, it is the object of the event that defines the terms, rather than the time of day. A good way to keep them straight is “dinner for impressing, supper for digesting.”
If you think you know the answer to the question, “Is it called supper, or dinner?”, you may still be jumping the gun. As usual, in the United States, we have managed to muddy up the waters and confuse a normally easy-to-understand social custom. The U.S. mentality is based on the concept of free enterprise, which means we seldom interfere with business practices unless absolutely necessary. This is why workers in America work longer hours than in any other free industrialized nation.
During our accepted workday, which can be as long as 14 hours or more, most businesses allow employees the bare minimum time to eat, just enough to prevent collapse from hunger while on the job. Most workers get 30 minutes to eat, which includes travel time to and from the place where they will eat, ordering and serving time, and waiting time. This usually works out to around 10 minutes to wolf down something simple, maybe even in the car on the way back to work. This time constraint rules out most fresh or complicated food, and most fare consists of sandwiches prepared in advance, food from a “roach coach” (a mobile restaurant with questionable sanitation), or super-fast foods at places like McDonald’s, Burger King, etc. We call this meal “lunch” because, many times, it’s what you’ll be losing later—and no other term fits. Workers usually go home in the evening and finally get to enjoy a large sit-down meal with the family, after which they typically conk out in front of the TV, until their spouse wakes them up to come to bed.
This is probably the main reason why Americans are losing the battle of the bulge (obesity). Any doctor will tell you that eating a lot of food and then going to sleep for 6 or more hours is a great way to put on unwanted weight. Ideally, you should eat light at night and have a large breakfast or a big noon meal, so you have the rest of the day to work off the calories. True to form, in the United States, we insist on doing things backwards compared to the rest of the world.
Whether you call the evening meal dinner or supper depends on the desired outcome of the event. So, use your own judgment when telling people about what you had to eat last night. Let them wonder, “Is it called supper or dinner?” Does it really matter that much, as long as you get to eat?
