One lump, or two?
The other day I saw a post on my Facebook page that caught my eye about bringing back afternoon tea time, with a link to a story in Country Living Magazine. I was curious so I checked it out, and basically the magazine is pushing to bring back afternoon tea at 4pm. They even went so far as to suggest inviting friends and family over for a light repast of sandwiches, scones, cake, and tea. A nice idea, and as one who loves most all things British, it is most definitely my cup of tea. Perhaps everyday at 4pm I'll make a cup and take a break, since I'm usually at work at this time. Hrm...must fine proper teacup for office.
So this thought led to my next one...what other things are we missing out on? Afternoon tea was created by a duchess who could not wait until the evening meal to have something to eat. Back in the 1800's, the aristocracy kept late hours, meaning dinner was usually no earlier than 8pm. So 4pm would be a good time to have a "snack" or "tea' in order not to starve before dinner. This has gone by the wayside in this country, as power lunches and dinners have become the norm. Add to that families rarely sitting down to the table together for dinner, and you have many traditions being cast aside for the quick, efficient meals that allow one to get back to what they're doing that is so important. So while we're all rushing to go here and there, what are we missing out on? Where does family come into play? Our society has been on fast forward for ages, stressed out and pushed to the limits. When you look at other societies and cultures, you see theirs is not so fast paced, and things like spending time with family are important. We say it's important here, but is it? What kind of quality time are you getting by running your son or daughter to two and three activities in one evening? Perhaps because we're not to that point yet is the reason I don't understand.
I'm all for the re-introduction of afternoon tea! Let's all take a break about 4pm for a cup and relax for a few minutes. Catch up with a friend, or simply pick up a book to read a chapter or two. Maybe we can get back some of the tradition we cast aside years ago.
So this thought led to my next one...what other things are we missing out on? Afternoon tea was created by a duchess who could not wait until the evening meal to have something to eat. Back in the 1800's, the aristocracy kept late hours, meaning dinner was usually no earlier than 8pm. So 4pm would be a good time to have a "snack" or "tea' in order not to starve before dinner. This has gone by the wayside in this country, as power lunches and dinners have become the norm. Add to that families rarely sitting down to the table together for dinner, and you have many traditions being cast aside for the quick, efficient meals that allow one to get back to what they're doing that is so important. So while we're all rushing to go here and there, what are we missing out on? Where does family come into play? Our society has been on fast forward for ages, stressed out and pushed to the limits. When you look at other societies and cultures, you see theirs is not so fast paced, and things like spending time with family are important. We say it's important here, but is it? What kind of quality time are you getting by running your son or daughter to two and three activities in one evening? Perhaps because we're not to that point yet is the reason I don't understand.
I'm all for the re-introduction of afternoon tea! Let's all take a break about 4pm for a cup and relax for a few minutes. Catch up with a friend, or simply pick up a book to read a chapter or two. Maybe we can get back some of the tradition we cast aside years ago.
I try! A cup of green tea when I get home from work usually keeps me going until bedtime. No food for me at 4 since dinner falls around 6:00pm (unless you want to consider a bag of popcorn food). But it's a lovely way to wind down after a day dealing with, well, life.
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