Why Dinner Times Are Different Around The World

Dinner might seem like one of the simplest parts of the day, but the hour it lands on your table has been shaped by heatwaves, harvests, factory whistles, and even the Second World War.

If I suggested meeting around dinnertime, you’d probably have a rough idea of when I meant. But if you were French or Spanish, for example, you might actually end up showing up just a little—or, in the case of the latter, a lot—late. That’s because what constitutes dinnertime varies surprisingly wildly from one part of the world to another. But why exactly is that? As it turns out, the answer has not so much to do with culinary preference but is rather informed by geography, history, and the way people have worked for centuries instead.

The late eaters

If you take a trip to somewhere like Spain, Italy, Greece, or Argentina, you might find your stomach rumbling long before everyone else’s around you does. That’s because while some countries are winding down for the evening, these ones are only just thinking about what to have for dinner.

The reason for this is mostly meteorological. Before the advent of air conditioning, Mediterranean summers were sweltering affairs from which there was no reprieve. Trying to work outdoors or even inside a stuffy shop during the afternoon just wasn’t at all practical. So businesses would close for several hours while people headed home for a substantial lunch, followed by a siesta to sleep through the worst of the heat. Work resumed later in the day, often stretching into the evening, and by the time everyone clocked off at around 8.00 or 9.00 pm, dinner naturally moved later in the day too.

Spain, though, has an additional quirk as to why they have dinner so late. During the Second World War, Francisco Franco moved the country’s clocks forward to align with Nazi Germany, and Spain just never switched them back. As a result, the sun rises and sets later than its geography would otherwise suggest. So yes, a Spaniard might sit down to dinner at 10.00 pm, but to them it feels closer to 9.00 pm according to the position of the sun.

The early birds

The earlier dinner times of countries like the UK, Germany, and the US also owe more to work than they do to matters of taste. Before industrialisation, farm workers typically ate their biggest meal around midday, as they needed the calories to power them through an afternoon of physical labour. The evening meal then was often little more than a light supper of soup, bread, maybe some leftovers.

But then everything changed once people left the fields for the factories. Long shifts meant workers could no longer return home for a proper lunch, and so the substantial meal gradually migrated to the end of the working day instead. By the time they had finished a 10- or 12-hour shift and made it home, they were quite understandably starving, making 5.30 or 6.00 pm the natural time to sit down for a hot meal. That routine never really disappeared, and things like early school runs, long commutes, and a culture that still prizes early starts continue to reinforce the habit today.

Somewhere in the middle

France sits somewhere between these two extremes. Unlike the UK or the US, where lunch is often little more than a sandwich eaten at a desk, the French have traditionally treated the midday meal as something that should be accorded its proper respect. Even today, it isn’t unusual for businesses to close for an hour or two so people can enjoy a proper lunch, and having eaten well in the afternoon, they’re simply not ready for dinner at 6.00 pm.

Then there’s also the matter of the meal itself. You’ll find that eating in France is practically a secular religion, and dinner—usually served around 8.00 pm—is treated as a clear dividing line between work and the rest of the day. Traditionally, it unfolds at a measured pace, which might begin with an apéritif, followed by a starter, a main course, cheese, and dessert, all with plenty of conversation in between.

It’s part of the French idea of l’art de vivre, or “the art of living”, where meals are regarded as not so utilitarian a pursuit to just fill your stomach but rather about slowing down and properly enjoying the company around you. Eat much earlier and things can feel a little rushed. Eat much later and you’ve left yourself little time to enjoy the ritual before bed.

Funny how something as mundane as the time people eat can end up revealing so much about a country. Scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find you’re no longer talking about dinner at all. You’re now talking about geography, history, politics, work, and the countless little compromises people have made over generations without ever really thinking about them.

Opening image: Askar Abayev | Pexels