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Article: The rituals of dinner. (part 2) (Merchandising Bridal Registry) (Column)
- Article from:
- Gifts & Decorative Accessories
- Article date:
- January 1, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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This month we continue our journey to learn the origins, evolutions, eccentricities and meaning of table manners as portrayed by Margaret Visser in her book The Rituals of Dinner.
Confusing as it may seem to us, the words "host" and "guest" originally meant the same thing. One role cannot exist without the other. Host and guest participate in the same action. To receive a guest or to accept an invitation is to be ritually bound for a time to another person or group. To refuse food is to reject the fellowship and to prevent the host from playing the hostly role, which is to confer honor.
An institution called the "quatorziemes" (fourteenths) existed in ...