Re: USAGE: Meals [was: RE: Re(2): USAGE: Pop, smearcase, kolaches]

fflores@arnet.com.ar writes:
>
>I was under the impression that people in the US tend to have
>evening (afternoon?) meals quite early, and you've just confirmed
>that... As for me, I have _desayuno_ (breakfast) when I get up (varies
>a lot depending on my level of occupation!), _almuerzo_ at noon or
>at 1:00 pm at most, _merienda_ during the afternoon if I'm home
>(probably at around 5:00 pm, which the Simpsons' time :)) and
>_cena_ in the evening, at any time after the sun has set (in
>general, at 8:00 pm in winter, at about 9:15 pm in summer).
We had to learn about this in the culture part of my Spanish classes :).
>
>My breakfast and my _merienda_ are usually composed of milk and
>chocolate, or tea, or black coffee, plus crackers and jam or
>cookies, and maybe _dulce de leche_ (Argentine creation, you have
>to try it!). The biggest meal of the day is generally the _almuerzo_;
>some people barely have _cena_ (it's not good to eat a lot just
>before you go to bed!).
Hmm dulce de leche.......i think they sell that in Mexican food stores (or
something like that, i remember it being a kind of grainy caramel type
product). Filipinos also do "meryenda", but it's in general just snacks,
and not at a designated time of day (Filipinos tend to eat here and there
throughout the day).  I remember from the culture part of my Spanish
classes that cena in Spain at least usually happens around ten pm and
sometimes later.
>
>And that's the cause for many indigestions after Christmas. You
>*have* to eat a lot, late in the evening, and it's all food more
>suited to the European Christmas (highly caloric pork, almonds,
>nougats, etc. + cider at a 30 degrees C evening).
Interesting. Here for Christmas in my family at least, we usually have
pastries before we head off for Midnight mass. Sometimes we do it
afterwards. Also, we have dinner around 6 pm at my grandmothers, and it's
usually ham, salads, and sandwiches.