Datos curiosos : los horarios españoles para las comidas .:. Why do spaniards eat so late? (english translation below)
Los horarios de las comidas de los españoles son vistos con incredulidad, si no con clara incomprensión, por parte de los europeos. Cuando un alemán se va a comer a las 12 del mediodía, un español puede hacerlo a las dos o las tres de la tarde. En contra de lo que muchos piensan, no es una costumbre atávica. De hecho es una costumbre bastante reciente. Tradicionalmente el almuerzo, la comida del mediodía, se realizaba en España alrededor de la una de la tarde. Sin embargo después de la guerra civil española (1936-1939) se agravó la situación económica de los hogares españoles obligando a los cabezas de familia a tomar un mínimo de dos empleos, una tendencia que ya se había empezado a dar desde mediados del siglo XIX. Generalmente el empleo base o fundamental consistía en una jornada de 8 a 10 horas. Puesto que el sueldo obtenido no bastaba para el sustento familiar se recurría a un segundo empleo, de menor duración generalmente. Todo ello teniendo en cuenta que lo normal era también trabajar el sábado. Puesto que la cuestión era aprovechar al máximo la mañana, los trabajadores pluriempleados tenían un bloque compacto de al menos ocho horas de manera que para cumplirlas se desplazó el horario de la comida. Por poner un ejemplo, un obrero X, de oficio mecánico, trabajaba en una fábrica de 6 de la mañana a 2 de la tarde, salía, almorzaba, y a las cuatro de la tarde se incorporaba a un pequeño taller de mecánica donde "echaba" cuatro horas más. Si observamos detenidamente los horarios de las comidas imperantes hacia veinte o treinta años - cuando el pluriempleo ya no era tan habitual pero muy reciente - y los comparamos con los actuales se observa una clara tendencia a adelantar los horarios. Por ejemplo, en 1975 lo normal era comer a las 3 de la tarde y cenar a las 1o de la noche. Actualmente la comida se hace alrededor de las dos de la tarde y la cena se ha adelantado a las nueve de la noche, por regla general.
Los horarios de las comidas no son realmente un tema fundamental. Lo importante es hacer cinco comidas diarias de importancia decreciente. Si dormimos 8 horas - que es lo que deberíamos dormir - tenemos 16 horas de "actividad". Si dividimos estas 16 horas entre cinco comidas obtenemos que se debería comer cada 3 horas y 12 minutos. Todo esto evidentemente queda supeditado a los horarios de empresa, escuela etc. Si desayunamos a las 9 horas, deberíamos comer algo alrededor de las 12 h, luego a las 15 h el almuerzo, una merienda a las 18 horas y la cena a las 21 horas, lo más ligera posible.
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The meal times of the spaniards are viewed with incredulity, if not clear misunderstanding by the rest of Europeans. When a German is going to eat at 12 noon, a Spanish can do it at two or three in the afternoon. Contrary to what many think, this is not an ancestral custom. It's actually a fairly recent practice.Traditionally lunch took place in Spain around one o'clock. However after the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the economic situation of families heavily worsened and forced to householders to take a minimum of two jobs. Usually the base or main job was an 8 to 10 hours last.Since the salary earned was not enough to sustain family, men were forced - cause women was rarely allowed to work outside home - to take a second job, usually shorter.Also saturday was a working day. Because the issue was to maximize the morning, workers had a solid block of at least eight hours non-stop that shifted the timing of the meal a couple of hours laters. As an example, a worker X worked in a factory from 6 am to 2 pm, took luch at 3 pm, and at four in the afternoon incorporated to a small machine shop where spent four more hours. If you look closely at the prevailing meal times for the last twenty or thirty years, showed a clear tendency towards early times for lunch.For example, in 1975 it was normal to eat at 3 pm and take dinner at 10 pm. Currently the luch is around two in the afternoon and dinner use to be before 9 pm, as latest.Probably in next years the meal times in Spain and the rest of western countries will match a lot more.
The meal times are not really a major issue. The important thing is to make five meals a day of decreasing importance. If we sleep 8 hours - that's what we should sleep - we have 16 hours of "activity". If we divide the 16 hours between five meals we find that we should eat every 3 hours and 12 minutes. All this of course is up to hours of business, school, etc. If breakfast is at 7 am, we should eat something around 10 h, take luch at 1 pm, lighter snack at 16 pm and dinner at 7 pm, as light as possible.
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The meal times of the spaniards are viewed with incredulity, if not clear misunderstanding by the rest of Europeans. When a German is going to eat at 12 noon, a Spanish can do it at two or three in the afternoon. Contrary to what many think, this is not an ancestral custom. It's actually a fairly recent practice.Traditionally lunch took place in Spain around one o'clock. However after the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the economic situation of families heavily worsened and forced to householders to take a minimum of two jobs. Usually the base or main job was an 8 to 10 hours last.Since the salary earned was not enough to sustain family, men were forced - cause women was rarely allowed to work outside home - to take a second job, usually shorter.Also saturday was a working day. Because the issue was to maximize the morning, workers had a solid block of at least eight hours non-stop that shifted the timing of the meal a couple of hours laters. As an example, a worker X worked in a factory from 6 am to 2 pm, took luch at 3 pm, and at four in the afternoon incorporated to a small machine shop where spent four more hours. If you look closely at the prevailing meal times for the last twenty or thirty years, showed a clear tendency towards early times for lunch.For example, in 1975 it was normal to eat at 3 pm and take dinner at 10 pm. Currently the luch is around two in the afternoon and dinner use to be before 9 pm, as latest.Probably in next years the meal times in Spain and the rest of western countries will match a lot more.
The meal times are not really a major issue. The important thing is to make five meals a day of decreasing importance. If we sleep 8 hours - that's what we should sleep - we have 16 hours of "activity". If we divide the 16 hours between five meals we find that we should eat every 3 hours and 12 minutes. All this of course is up to hours of business, school, etc. If breakfast is at 7 am, we should eat something around 10 h, take luch at 1 pm, lighter snack at 16 pm and dinner at 7 pm, as light as possible.