Middle Eastern dinners vary from home to home and from family to family and from type of home to type of home. I'll elaborate. Dinner time in the Middle East (I'm talking about experience) is amazing. I'll leave out the era before the meal and the post meal naps (yes naps) and I'll just get to the point about the meal itself. It is very common to hear of a house in the Middle East with a dining table that hasn't been used. The main reason for that is the family (for some reason or another) prefers to eat on the ground. Yes, the ground. They gather around in a circle and pack tightly together and the meal is efficient. The dining table can be used for some special guest or of someone decides to eat by him/her self and they they're too lazy to put the floor mats and the old rags on the ground. They'll settle for a table meal. However, if there are a lot of people eating at the same time, then the dining table is neglected and eating on the ground (off of the floor mats and old rags) happens.
Eating on the ground goes for all meals also, not just dinner. For example, breakfast is on the ground, dinner is on the ground, and the late night meal is also on the ground. I never understood the reason for eating on the ground, however after experiencing it on numerous occasions, I have come to realize that it isn't as uncomfortable as it may seem.
As for the post dinner nap, I'll explain that too. The reason for the nap after dinner is because the men that come home from a long day at work all want their food and the women cooking the meals all want their food. Both of the parties have had long days and after a heavy Middle Eastern meal, sleeping is inevitable (however). Don't get me wrong, this doesn't happen in every home, however I am only explaining what happens in some of the instances I have seen.
Tea post dinner is also very important, however I'll get to tea and coffee and all the other beverages in another post. During dinner however, there may be some beverages available. It ranges from soda to water to mango juice to other types of juice and so on. It's important to have the beverages available, however there are the people (older people usually) that occasionally wait to drink their tea after the food.
Eating on the ground goes for all meals also, not just dinner. For example, breakfast is on the ground, dinner is on the ground, and the late night meal is also on the ground. I never understood the reason for eating on the ground, however after experiencing it on numerous occasions, I have come to realize that it isn't as uncomfortable as it may seem.
As for the post dinner nap, I'll explain that too. The reason for the nap after dinner is because the men that come home from a long day at work all want their food and the women cooking the meals all want their food. Both of the parties have had long days and after a heavy Middle Eastern meal, sleeping is inevitable (however). Don't get me wrong, this doesn't happen in every home, however I am only explaining what happens in some of the instances I have seen.
Tea post dinner is also very important, however I'll get to tea and coffee and all the other beverages in another post. During dinner however, there may be some beverages available. It ranges from soda to water to mango juice to other types of juice and so on. It's important to have the beverages available, however there are the people (older people usually) that occasionally wait to drink their tea after the food.
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