There are approximately 87,000 Amish living in PA. That is 0.6% of the total population (just under 13 million) Probably not significant.
Also, many Amish use electricity, but they do not get it from the utility grid. They use generators fueled by natural gas, propane, or diesel fuel. Some use windmills and solar power is becoming more common. Amish do use modern appliances such as lights and washing machines. They even use phones and the Amish Computer (a word processor).
There are several Amish farms in Southeast PA that have accommodations for the English to stay for a night or two to learn about Amish life. Quite enlightening...
One of my biggest culture shocks upon moving from the western US to southern Portugal was the substantial shift in dinner time. My wife normally dined at 8 pm and thought my habit of eating around 6 pm was 1) weird and possibly barbaric, and 2) unworkable. She wasn’t kidding about that last, as most Portuguese restaurants don’t even open their doors for dinner until 7 pm. If you walk in at that time, the place will be mostly empty.
We have largely compromised, settling on a dinner time around 7:30 when we’re eating at home and 7:00 when we go out to eat. But it’s not uncommon for us to eat at 8:00, a habit I now understand: when summer heat means your “afternoon” productive hours don’t start until the air begins losing heat (usually around 6-7 pm), you don’t go to bed until midnight or one. That means you get up later, eat lunch later, and…eat dinner later. (It will not surprise anyone to learn that the normal Portuguese lunch hour begins at 1:00 pm.)
That said, the Portuguese are early compared to the Spanish, who generally don’t start dining until 8:00 at the earliest (9:00 is more common). My wife and I recently enjoyed a group meal with a bunch of local university professors in Granada, and the beer and starter plates were set out at 9 pm. We finished the meal at 11:45, after the Spaniards had drunk their coffee. (!!) Upon departure, one of the professors led us on a scenic walk back to our hotel, so we arrived at 1:00 a.m. And this was a work night.
As many southerners will be happy to tell you, anyone eating dinner at 5:30 PM, will be eating supper at around midnight.
I once made the mistake of asking my east Tennessee uncles what time dinner would be ready? The looked at me as if I were off my rocker (of course, they were being playful), and said, "What time will dinner be ready? Boy, we already ate dinner. I think you mean supper!" What is commonly called "lunch" is, for those deep-from-the-sticks men from east Tennessee, called "dinner." And what we often call dinner is called supper.
I did note, however, that Texas and Tennessee are only separated by Mississippi. Like Mother like Son (Tennessee is sometimes called the Mother State of Texas, what with Davy Crockett, the Tennessee Boys, and Sam Houston).
I found it odd that of the men at the Alamo, the state most represented was Tennessee (Texas was not a state then).
I have to say those wide variability bars on the dinner time data make differences almost meaningless, except at the extremes. If the same survey was done with another comparable population, the order of placement would be entirely different. This is why results are not reproducible when studies are repeated.
Seeing the map for Europe led me to think the US states might also need to be grouped by geography and position within their time zones. Note that Ohio and Maine are both in the Eastern time zone. Maine could see the sun set a full hour before Ohio.
PA may be affected by the large Amish population without electricity.
ReplyDeletexoxoxoBruce
There are approximately 87,000 Amish living in PA. That is 0.6% of the total population (just under 13 million) Probably not significant.
DeleteAlso, many Amish use electricity, but they do not get it from the utility grid. They use generators fueled by natural gas, propane, or diesel fuel. Some use windmills and solar power is becoming more common. Amish do use modern appliances such as lights and washing machines. They even use phones and the Amish Computer (a word processor).
There are several Amish farms in Southeast PA that have accommodations for the English to stay for a night or two to learn about Amish life. Quite enlightening...
One of my biggest culture shocks upon moving from the western US to southern Portugal was the substantial shift in dinner time. My wife normally dined at 8 pm and thought my habit of eating around 6 pm was 1) weird and possibly barbaric, and 2) unworkable. She wasn’t kidding about that last, as most Portuguese restaurants don’t even open their doors for dinner until 7 pm. If you walk in at that time, the place will be mostly empty.
ReplyDeleteWe have largely compromised, settling on a dinner time around 7:30 when we’re eating at home and 7:00 when we go out to eat. But it’s not uncommon for us to eat at 8:00, a habit I now understand: when summer heat means your “afternoon” productive hours don’t start until the air begins losing heat (usually around 6-7 pm), you don’t go to bed until midnight or one. That means you get up later, eat lunch later, and…eat dinner later. (It will not surprise anyone to learn that the normal Portuguese lunch hour begins at 1:00 pm.)
That said, the Portuguese are early compared to the Spanish, who generally don’t start dining until 8:00 at the earliest (9:00 is more common). My wife and I recently enjoyed a group meal with a bunch of local university professors in Granada, and the beer and starter plates were set out at 9 pm. We finished the meal at 11:45, after the Spaniards had drunk their coffee. (!!) Upon departure, one of the professors led us on a scenic walk back to our hotel, so we arrived at 1:00 a.m. And this was a work night.
Golly gosh, when did we lose the M from PM ?
ReplyDeleteWhen I first glanced at the above chart I thought it read 'Peak Dinner £6.19 pence'
The British use P for pence, the equivalent of cents for all intents.
But I'll obviously need to shift my dining time if I am to be able to deal with a world in which time is annotated as now 'post' something.
But I guess I'll keep on working post office hours.
I note that some post offices in New Zealand are open 9:00a to 4:00p. Nice...
DeleteAs many southerners will be happy to tell you, anyone eating dinner at 5:30 PM, will be eating supper at around midnight.
ReplyDeleteI once made the mistake of asking my east Tennessee uncles what time dinner would be ready? The looked at me as if I were off my rocker (of course, they were being playful), and said, "What time will dinner be ready? Boy, we already ate dinner. I think you mean supper!" What is commonly called "lunch" is, for those deep-from-the-sticks men from east Tennessee, called "dinner." And what we often call dinner is called supper.
I did note, however, that Texas and Tennessee are only separated by Mississippi. Like Mother like Son (Tennessee is sometimes called the Mother State of Texas, what with Davy Crockett, the Tennessee Boys, and Sam Houston).
I found it odd that of the men at the Alamo, the state most represented was Tennessee (Texas was not a state then).
When do people eat dinner in Europe?
ReplyDeletehttps://flowingdata.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Dinner-in-Europe-750x750.png
Graphic added to the post. Thank you.
DeleteI have to say those wide variability bars on the dinner time data make differences almost meaningless, except at the extremes. If the same survey was done with another comparable population, the order of placement would be entirely different. This is why results are not reproducible when studies are repeated.
ReplyDeleteSeeing the map for Europe led me to think the US states might also need to be grouped by geography and position within their time zones. Note that Ohio and Maine are both in the Eastern time zone. Maine could see the sun set a full hour before Ohio.
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent point, Alan.
Deletehttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Timezoneswest.PNG