A meal is an eating occasion that takes place at a certain time and includes consumption of food . The names used for specific meals in English vary, depending on the speaker's culture, the time of day, or the size of the meal.
65-517: Lunch is a meal eaten around the middle of the day. It is commonly the second meal of the day, after breakfast , but before dinner , and varies in size by culture and region. According to the Oxford English Dictionary ( OED ), the etymology of lunch is uncertain. It may have evolved from lump in a similar way to hunch , a derivative of hump , and bunch , a derivative of bump . Alternatively, it may have evolved from
130-479: A restaurant or brought in a container. Western cuisine is not uncommon. It is called 午餐 or 午饭 in most areas. In Australia, a light meal eaten in the period between 10:30 am and noon is considered morning tea ; an actual lunch will be consumed between 12 and 2 PM. While usually consisting of fruit or a cereal product, a typical Australian brunch may include other foods as well such as burgers , sandwiches, other light food items, and hot dishes. Sometimes,
195-485: A workplace , or at an outing . The food is usually wrapped in plastic , aluminum foil , or paper and can be carried (" packed ") in a lunch box , paper bag (a " sack "), or plastic bag . While packed lunches are usually taken from home by the people who are going to eat them, in Mumbai, India , tiffin boxes are most often picked up from the home and brought to workplaces later in the day by so-called dabbawallas . It
260-550: A bag of chips , salad or fruit and a bottled drink. Meal deals are a staple of many Western high-street supermarkets and convenience stores; they are generally offered at a deal price and are highly convenient for the busy working person. Some stores are now adding premium meal deal items and salads to their meal deal inventory. Critics, however, criticise the meal deal for increasing the levels of single-use plastic waste in circulation and persuading people to buy more food than they originally intended or wanted - contributing to
325-450: A boxed lunch, known as a bentō , to class or to work with them. Sushi, donburi and teishoku are also common. Additionally, other Japanese lunch options include quick and convenient foods like onigiri (rice balls), sandwiches , and instant noodles , catering to busy individuals. In China today, lunch is not nearly as complicated as it was before industrialisation. Rice, noodles and other mixed hot foods are often eaten, either at
390-431: A cafeteria where children can buy lunch or eat a packed lunch. Boarding schools and private schools , including universities, often have a cafeteria where lunch is served. In Mexico , lunch ( almuerzo ) is usually the main meal of the day and normally takes place between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm. It usually includes three or four courses: the first is an entrée of rice, noodles or pasta, but also may include
455-517: A dish from the national cuisine as second one. In West Asia (Middle East) and in most Arab countries, lunch is eaten after 12:00 pm, usually between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm and is the main meal of the day. It usually consists of meat, rice, vegetables and sauces and is sometimes but not always followed by dessert. Lunch is also eaten as a light meal at times in the Middle East, such as when children arrive at home from school while
520-688: A few sweet dishes like Germknödel or rice pudding that can serve as a main course, too. Lunch is called Mittagessen – literally, "midday's food". In the Netherlands, Belgium, and Norway, it is common to eat sandwiches for lunch: slices of bread that people usually carry to work or school and eat in the canteen . The slices of bread are usually filled with sweet or savoury foodstuffs such as chocolate sprinkles (hagelslag), apple syrup , peanut butter , slices of meat, cheese or kroket . The meal typically includes coffee , milk or juice , and sometimes yogurt , some fruit or soup. It
585-420: A formal meal the breakfast can be given to the recipient in a basket or hamper. Variations of breakfasts across countries and cuisines Refer to this Misplaced Pages Breakfast page for a list of countries and continents and their variations of breakfast. The cuisine articles linked in the breakfast page regarding each countries and continents cuisine may display variations of breakfast more thoroughly. Lunch
650-528: A full lunch. In Sweden, lunch is usually a full hot meal, much as in Finland. In the United Kingdom, lunch is often a small meal designed to stave off hunger until returning home from work and eating dinner. It is usually eaten early in the afternoon. Lunch is often purveyed and consumed in pubs . Pub lunch dishes include fish and chips , ploughman's lunch and others. But on Sundays, it is usually
715-469: A greater time gap between breakfast and dinner. A meal called lunch came to fill this gap. The late evening meal, called supper , became squeezed out as dinner advanced into the evening, and often became a snack. But formal "supper parties", artificially lit by candles, sometimes with entertainment, persisted as late as the Regency era , and a ball normally included supper, often served very late. Until
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#1732780564744780-569: A household in Victorian Britain, edited by Isabella Beeton – had much less to explain about luncheon than about dinners or ball suppers: The remains of cold joints, nicely garnished, a few sweets, or a little hashed meat, poultry, or game, are the usual articles placed on the table for luncheon, with bread and cheese, biscuits, butter, etc. If a substantial meal is desired, rump-steaks or mutton chops may be served, as also veal cutlets, kidneys... In families where there
845-500: A large range of preparations and ingredients are associated with breakfast globally. A full breakfast is a breakfast meal, usually including bacon , sausages , eggs , and a variety of other cooked foods, with hot beverages such as coffee or tea, or cold beverages such as juice or milk. It is especially popular in the UK and Ireland, to the extent that many cafés and pubs offer the meal at any time of day as an "all-day breakfast". It
910-477: A meal during the late afternoon is referred to as " afternoon tea ", a meal in which food portions are usually significantly smaller than at lunch, sometimes consisting of nothing more than coffee or other beverages. Lunch in Denmark, referred to as frokost , is a light meal. Often it includes rye bread with different toppings such as liver pâté , herring , and cheese. Smørrebrød is a Danish lunch delicacy that
975-445: A noon-time meal, particularly if it is a large or main meal. For example, Sunday dinner is the name used for a large meal served after the family returned home from the morning's church services, and often based on meat that roasted while the family was out, and this term is still often used to signify that Sunday dinner is special even if no longer preceded by attendance at church. The evening meal can be called tea when dinner, which
1040-699: A pasta dish), secondo (the "second" course, e.g., fish or meat), usually accompanied by a contorno (a side dish), and dolce ("sweets", or dessert). Many traditions conclude a formal meal with coffee, sometimes accompanied with spirits, either separate or mixed in the coffee. Meal preparation , sometimes called "meal prep," is the process of planning and preparing meals. It generally involves food preparation, including cooking, sometimes together with preparing table decorations, drinks etc Preparing food for eating generally requires selection, measurement and combination of ingredients in an ordered procedure so as to achieve desired results. Food preparation includes but
1105-503: A quick dinner provided by their wives, but as the workplace was moved farther from home, working men took to giving themselves something portable to eat during a break in the middle of the day. The lunch meal slowly became institutionalised in England when workers with long and fixed-hour jobs at the factory were eventually given an hour off work to eat lunch and thus gain strength for the afternoon shift. Stalls and later chop houses near
1170-509: A quick lunch, which might include some type of hot or cold sandwich such as a hamburger or "sub" sandwich . Salads and soups are also common, as well as a soup and sandwich , tacos , burritos , sushi , bento boxes, and pizza . Lunch may be consumed at various types of restaurants, such as formal , fast casual and fast food restaurants. Canadians and Americans generally do not go home for lunch, and lunch rarely lasts more than an hour except for business lunches, which may last longer. In
1235-488: A soup and a main dish. Most Poles equate the English word "lunch" with "obiad" because it is the second of the three main meals of the day; śniadanie (breakfast), obiad (lunch/dinner) and kolacja (dinner/supper). There is another meal eaten by some called drugie śniadanie , which means " second breakfast ". Drugie śniadanie is eaten around 10:00 am and is a light snack, usually consisting of sandwiches, salad, or
1300-484: A soup or salad. The second consists of a main dish, called a guisado , served with one or two side dishes such as refried beans , cooked vegetables, rice or salad. The main dish is accompanied by tortillas or a bread called bolillo . The third course is a combination of a traditional dessert or sweet, café de olla , and a digestif . During the meal, it is usual to drink aguas frescas , although soft drinks have gained ground in recent years. In Argentina , lunch
1365-466: A thin soup. In Romania , lunch ( prânz in Romanian ) is the main hot meal of the day. Lunch normally consists of two dishes: usually, the first course is a soup and the second course, the main course, often consists of meat accompanied by potato, rice or pasta (garnitură) . Traditionally, people used to bake and eat desserts, but nowadays it is less common. On Sundays, the lunch is more consistent and
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#17327805647441430-625: A three-course meal: the first course usually consists of an appetizer; the main course of a more elaborate dish, usually meat- or fish-based; the dessert of something sweet, often accompanied by a coffee or small amounts of spirits. Most places of work have a complete restaurant with a lunch break of at least an hour. Spanish schools also have a full restaurant, and students have a one-hour break. Three courses are standard practice at home, workplace, and schools. Most small shops close for between two and four hours – usually between 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. – to allow to go home for
1495-574: A vegetable curry . The third course consists of rice and fish curry. The fourth course is that of rice and meat curry (generally chevon , mutton , chicken or lamb). The fifth course contains sweet preparations like rasgulla , pantua , rajbhog, sandesh , etc. The sixth course consists of payesh or mishti doi (sweet yogurt). The seventh course is that of paan , which acts as a mouth freshener. In Japan, lunch ( 昼食 , chūshoku ) often consists of rice or noodle dishes such as ramen , soba and udon bowls. Many Japanese people will also take
1560-469: Is a breakfast served with champagne or sparkling wine . It is a new concept in some countries and is not typical of the role of a breakfast. It may be part of any day or outing considered particularly luxurious or indulgent . The accompanying breakfast is sometimes of a similarly high standard and include rich foods such as salmon , caviar , chocolate or pastries , which would not ordinarily be eaten at breakfast or more courses. Instead of as
1625-413: Is a dessert originating from medieval Europe, made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup . Whole fruits are cooked in water with sugar and spices . The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla , lemon or orange peel, cinnamon sticks or powder, cloves , other spices, ground almonds , grated coconut , candied fruit or raisins . The compote is served either warm or cold. Compote conformed to
1690-446: Is a meal typically eaten at midday; it varies in size by culture and region. The word lunch is an abbreviation for luncheon , whose origin relates to a small snack originally eaten at any time of the day or night. During the 20th century the meaning in English gradually narrowed to a small or mid-sized meal eaten at midday. Lunch is commonly the second meal of the day after breakfast . Significant variations exist in different areas of
1755-470: Is a nursery, the mistress of the house often partakes of the meal with the children and makes it her luncheon. In the summer, a few dishes of fresh fruit should be added to the luncheon, or, instead of this, a compote of fruit or fruit tart or pudding. With the growth of industrialisation in the 19th century, male workers began to work long shifts at the factory, severely disrupting the age-old eating habits of rural life. Initially, workers were sent home for
1820-536: Is a seven- course meal. Bengali cuisine is a culinary style originating in Bengal , a region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent , which is now divided between Bangladesh and Indian states of West Bengal , Tripura , Assam 's Barak Valley . The first course is shukto , which is a mix of vegetables cooked with few spices and topped with a coconut sauce. The second course consists of rice , dal , and
1885-738: Is also popular in other English-speaking countries. In the different parts of the United Kingdom like in England it is usually referred to as a 'full English breakfast' (often shortened to 'full English') or 'fry-up'. Other regional variants across the UK include the 'full Scottish'in Scotland , 'full Welsh' in Wales , and the 'Ulster fry' in Northern Ireland . The full breakfast
1950-422: Is also possible to buy packed lunches from stores in several countries. Lunch boxes made out of metal , plastic or vinyl are now popular with today's youth. Lunch boxes provide a way to take heavier lunches in a sturdier box or bag. It is also environmentally friendly . Another variation of lunch is the meal deal, this is a meal often bought from a store and contains the following: a sandwich or pastry ,
2015-588: Is among the most internationally recognised British dishes , along with such staples as bangers & mash , shepherd's pie , fish and chips and the Christmas dinner . The full breakfast became popular in the British Isles during the Victorian era, and appeared as one among many suggested breakfasts in the home economist Isabella Beeton 's The Book of Household Management (1861). A full breakfast
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2080-404: Is different from a snack in that meals are generally larger, more varied, and more filling than snacks. The type of food that is served or consumed at any given time depends on regional customs. Three main meals are often eaten in the morning, early afternoon, and evening in most modern civilizations. Further, the names of meals are often interchangeable by custom as well. Some serve dinner as
2145-474: Is eaten around noon, during a lunch break. In Portugal, lunch ( almoço in Portuguese) consists of a full hot meal, similar to dinner, usually with soup, meat or fish course, and dessert. It is served between noon and 2:00 p.m. It is the main meal of the day throughout the country. The Portuguese word lanches derives from the English word "lunch", but it refers to a lighter meal or snack taken during
2210-545: Is generally the largest of the day, is eaten in the middle of the day. A full-course dinner is a dinner consisting of multiple dishes, or courses. In its simplest, English-based form, it can consist of three to five courses, such as appetizers, fish course, entrée, main course and dessert. The traditional courses and their order vary by culture. In the Italian meal structure , there are traditionally four formal courses: antipasto (appetizers), primo (the "first" course, e.g.,
2275-438: Is not limited to cooking. Cooking or cookery is the art , technology and craft of preparing food for consumption with the use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world , from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in various types of ovens, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions and trends. The ways or types of cooking also depend on
2340-586: Is not unusual, especially in summer places or in town on Saturday or Sunday, to include an equal number of men" – hence the mildly disparaging phrase, "the ladies who lunch ". Lunch was a ladies' light meal; when the Prince of Wales stopped to eat a dainty luncheon with lady friends, he was laughed at for this effeminacy. Beginning in the 1840s, afternoon tea supplemented this luncheon at four o'clock. Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861) – a guide to all aspects of running
2405-596: Is now used in especially formal circumstances. The Oxford Companion to Food claims that luncheon is a Northern England English word that is derived from the Old English word nuncheon or nunchin meaning ' noon drink ' . The OED records the words "nuncheon" and "nunchion" with the meaning "drink" or "snack" in various forms since the Middle English period. Tastes in food, menu items, and meal periods have changed dramatically over time. During
2470-636: Is often contrasted (e.g. on hotel menus) with the lighter alternative of a Continental breakfast , traditionally consisting of tea, milk or coffee and fruit juices with bread, croissants , or pastries . " Instant breakfast " typically refers to breakfast food products that are manufactured in a powdered form, which are generally prepared with the addition of milk and then consumed as a beverage . Some instant breakfasts are produced and marketed in liquid form, being pre-mixed. The target market for instant breakfast products includes consumers who tend to be busy, such as working adults. A champagne breakfast
2535-415: Is often used for business meetings or special events. In Finland, lunch is a full hot meal, served as one course, sometimes with small salads and desserts. Dishes are diverse, ranging from meat or fish courses to soups that are heavy enough to constitute a meal. In France, the midday meal is taken between noon and 2:00 p.m. In Italy, lunch is taken around 12:30 in the north and at 2:00 p.m. in
2600-500: Is unclear whether people eating alone eat more, less, or the same amount of food compared to people eating in groups, partly because of differences in whether they are eating alone at home or eating alone in restaurants. Restaurants have responded to the increasing number of people eating alone by accepting reservations for solo diners and installing bar seating and large tables that solo diners can share with others. Compote Compote or compôte (French for stewed fruit )
2665-406: Is usually a savoury dish, consisting of protein (such as meat), starchy foods (such as potatoes), and a vegetable or salad. It is usually eaten around 2:00 pm. In Bulgaria lunch is usually eaten between 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM. In the capital of Sofia , people usually order takeaway because lunch breaks are too short to go in place. In other areas, Bulgarians often have salad as first meal and
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2730-424: Is usually accompanied by an appetiser or salad. In Russia, the midday meal is taken in the afternoon. Usually, lunch is the biggest meal and consists of a first course, usually a soup, and a second course which would be meat and a garnish. Tea is standard. In Bosnia and Herzegovina , lunch is the day's main meal. It is traditionally a substantial hot meal, sometimes with additional courses like soup and dessert. It
2795-709: Is usually the main meal of the day, and normally takes place between noon and 2:00 p.m. People usually eat a wide variety of foods, such as chicken, beef, pasta, salads, and a drink like water, soda or wine, and some dessert. Although at work, people usually take a fast meal which can consist of a sandwich brought from home or bought as fast food . In Brazil , lunch is the main meal of the day, taking place between 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Brazilians usually eat rice with beans, salad, french fries, some kind of meat or pasta dishes, with juice or soft drinks. The kind of food may vary from region to region. Fast and simpler meals (sandwich, etc.) are common during weekdays. After
2860-459: The Middle Ages , the main meal of the day, then called dinner, for almost everyone, took place late in the morning after several hours of work, when there was no need for artificial lighting. In the early to mid-17th century, the meal could be any time between late morning and mid-afternoon. During the late 17th and 18th centuries, this meal was gradually pushed back into the evening, creating
2925-628: The Spanish lonja , meaning ' slice of ham ' . It was first recorded in 1591 with the meaning ' thick piece, hunk ' as in "lunch of bacon ". The modern definition was first recorded in 1829. The word luncheon ( / ˈ l ʌ n tʃ ən / ) has a similarly uncertain origin according to the OED , being "related in some way" to lunch . It is possible that luncheon is an extension of lunch , as with punch to puncheon and trunch to truncheon . Originally interchangeable with lunch , it
2990-436: The 1800s was usually just toast or some variation of gruel or porridge and the main meal was dinner. Peasants (which were the majority in every country) had dinner around noon, after six or seven hours of work. Then, in the late 1700s and the 1800s, people began to work farther from home, and the midday meal had to become something light, just whatever they could carry to work (lunch). They began to eat dinner (the main meal) in
3055-565: The United States the three-martini lunch – so called because the meal extends to the amount of time it takes to drink three martinis – has been making a comeback since 2010. In the United States, businesses could deduct 80% of the cost of these extended lunches until the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Children generally are given a break in the middle of the school day to eat lunch. Public schools often have
3120-492: The afternoon (around 5 pm) due to the fact that, traditionally, Portuguese dinner is served at a later hour than in English-speaking countries. In Spain, the midday meal, "lunch" takes place between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. and is effectively dinner, (the main meal of the day); in contrast, supper usually begins between 8:30 and 10:00 p.m. Being the main meal of the day everywhere, it usually consists of
3185-408: The center south; it is a full meal but is lighter than supper. In Germany, lunch was traditionally the main meal of the day. It is traditionally a substantial hot meal, sometimes with additional courses like soup and dessert. It is usually a savoury dish consisting of protein (e.g., meat), starchy foods (e.g., potatoes ), and vegetables or salad. Casseroles and stews are popular as well. There are
3250-423: The day. Lunch also becomes dinner on special days, such as holidays or special events, including, for example, Christmas dinner and harvest dinners such as Thanksgiving ; on these special days, dinner is usually served in the early afternoon. The main meal on Sunday, whether at a restaurant or home, is called " Sunday dinner ", and for Christians is served after morning church services. A traditional Bengali lunch
3315-401: The early 19th century, luncheon was generally reserved for the ladies, who would often have lunch with one another when their husbands were out. The meal was often relatively light, and often included left-overs from the previous night's dinner, which were often plentiful. As late as 1945, Emily Post wrote in the magazine Etiquette that luncheon is "generally given by and for women, but it
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#17327805647443380-403: The end of dinner. Because it was easy to prepare, made from inexpensive ingredients and contained no dairy products, compote became a staple of Jewish households throughout Europe. In modern French , the term refers to usually unsweetened fruit purée without fruit chunks, such as applesauce . Dried fruit is often used for compote by cultures from Eastern Europe, and its syrup is also drunk as
3445-406: The evening. Throughout history, meals were normally communal affairs. People got together, shared the food, and perhaps talked over the day. In the 21st century, an increasing number of adults in developed countries eat most or all of their meals alone. Although more people are eating alone, research suggests that many people do not consider a "meal" a solo act, but rather commensal dining. It
3510-410: The factories began to provide mass-produced food for the working class, and the meal soon became an established part of the daily routine, remaining so to this day. In many countries and regions, lunch is the dinner or main meal. Prescribed lunchtimes allow workers to return to their homes to eat with their families. Consequently, businesses close during lunchtime when lunch is the customary main meal of
3575-411: The growing obesity crisis . Dinner usually refers to a significant and important meal of the day, which can be the noon or the evening meal. However, the term dinner can have many different meanings depending on the culture; it may mean a meal of any size eaten at any time of the day. Historically, it referred to the first large meal of the day, eaten around noon, and is still sometimes used for
3640-410: The main meal at midday, with supper as the late afternoon/early evening meal; while others may call their midday meal lunch and their early evening meal supper or dinner. Except for "breakfast," these names can vary from region to region or even from family to family. Breakfast is the first meal of a day, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work. Some believe it to be
3705-470: The main meal, and typically the largest and most formal meal of the week, to which family or other guests may be invited. It traditionally centres on a Sunday roast joint of meat. It may be served rather later than a weekday lunch, or not. In Hungary, lunch is traditionally the main meal of the day, following a leves (soup). In Poland, the main meal of the day (called obiad ) is traditionally eaten between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm, and consists of
3770-501: The meal, some kind of dessert or coffee are also common. Since lunch typically falls in the early-middle of the working day , it can either be eaten on a break from work, or as part of the workday. The difference between those who work through lunch and those who take it off could be a matter of cultural, social class, bargaining power, or the nature of the work. Also, to simplify matters, some cultures refer to meal breaks at work as "lunch" no matter when they occur – even in
3835-510: The medieval belief that fruit cooked in sugar syrup balanced the effects of humidity on the body. The name is derived from the Latin word compositus , meaning mixture. In late medieval England it was served at the beginning of the last course of a feast (or sometimes the second out of three courses), often accompanied by a creamy potage . During the Renaissance, it was served chilled at
3900-420: The middle of the night. This is especially true for jobs that have employees that rotate shifts. Meal Although they can be eaten anywhere, meals typically take place in homes, restaurants, and cafeterias. Regular meals occur on a daily basis, typically several times a day. Special meals are usually held in conjunction with such occasions as birthdays , weddings , anniversaries , and holidays . A meal
3965-716: The most important meal of the day. The word breakfast literally refers to breaking the fasting period of the prior night. Breakfast foods vary widely from place to place, but often include carbohydrates such as grains or cereals, fruit, vegetables, protein foods like eggs , meat or fish, and beverages such as tea , coffee , milk , or fruit juice , juices often taken first of all. Coffee, milk, tea, juice, breakfast cereals , pancakes , waffles , sausages , French toast , bacon , sweetened breads , fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs , baked beans , muffins , crumpets and toast with butter , margarine , jam or marmalade are common examples of Western breakfast foods, though
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#17327805647444030-431: The parents are still out working. Water is commonly served, which may be iced, and other beverages such as soft drinks or yogurt (solid or liquid), other drinks are also consumed. In the United States and Canada, lunch is usually a moderately sized meal generally eaten between 11 and 1. During the work week , North Americans generally eat a quick lunch that often includes some type of sandwich , soup , or leftovers from
4095-494: The previous night's dinner (e.g., rice or pasta ). Children often bring packed lunches to school, which might consist of a sandwich such as bologna (or other cold cut ) and cheese, tuna, chicken, or peanut butter and jelly, as well as in Canada, savoury pie , as well as some fruit, chips , dessert and a drink such as juice, milk, or water. They may also buy meals as provided by their school. Adults may leave work to go out for
4160-418: The skill and type of training an individual cook has. Cooking is done both by people in their own dwellings and by professional cooks and chefs in restaurants and other food establishments. Cooking can also occur through chemical reactions without the presence of heat, most notably with ceviche , a traditional South American dish where fish is cooked with the acids in lemon or lime juice. Breakfast before
4225-535: The world. In some parts of the UK it can be called dinner or lunch, with the last meal called tea. A packed lunch (also called pack lunch , sack lunch or bag lunch in North America , or packed lunch in the United Kingdom , as well as the regional variations: bagging in Lancashire , Merseyside and Yorkshire , ) is a lunch prepared at home and carried to be eaten somewhere else, such as school,
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