Posts Tagged ‘history of the word picnic’
Picnicking – A Little History and A Lot of Screen Time
Unseasonal weather and spring’s quick approach bring the promise of an outdoor picnic to the table. While dining in open air has long been in practice for both pleasure and necessity, the origin of the word “picnic” maintains more elusive origins.
The earliest written form of picnic appeared in French to describe a group of diners who decided to BYOB their own wine at a local café. From there “pique-nique” in French continued to circle in use as a term to describe what Americans refer to as a pot-luck – a meal where all diners brought something to contribute to the meal. Our modern dictionary now defines picnic as “an excursion or outing in which the participants carry food with them and share a meal in the open air” (www.dictionary.com), however the origin remains debated.
Wherever the actual beginnings of the word “picnic” were born, Western culture has since embraced picnicking as a rite of spring and outing suitable for families, lovers and friends. Today, we associate picnicking with a day of leisure and culinary consumption under a shady tree, an event of pleasure, relaxation and reveling in the good weather that comes with springtime. Picnickers are a common sight in city parks and even on longer hiking trails during the sunny months.
