Welcome to National Sunday Supper Day! It’s celebrated every year on the second Sunday in January. It’s to encourages families to get together and enjoy a meal and conversation.
When was the last time you had Sunday dinner?
If you’re a fan of the CBS show “Blue Bloods,” you’re not alone if you’ve been envious of the Reagan family. They gather every Sunday for Sunday dinner where they talk about the events of the week and other family news. I always thought that must be so nice to have everyone around the table. Of course, that’s difficult to accomplish especially with some of the kids living out of state.
I don’t know exactly when Sunday Dinner stopped being a thing. Maybe the 1970s? I’m also a little fuzzy on whether it was a late lunch or evening dinner when I was growing up. I seem to remember watching football with Pat Summerall and John Madden while waiting for dinner so that was probably late afternoon or evening. And the menu? I can still picture mom’s Pot Roast, baked chicken or a boiled dinner with ham, carrots and potatoes. I can almost smell it!
As for my own family, I think we went to mom’s house for a few years before we started hosting dinner ourselves. It was part of the Sunday routine which consisted on Church, Sunday School, home to read the Sunday Standard Times with the Sunday comics and all the flyers and then dinner. I think that was pretty much the schedule until the children started getting busy.
Their sports and activities had us running for a few years. If there wasn’t a game there was practice. If it wasn’t a sport there was a birthday party. Having Sunday dinner turned into grabbing a sub at Subway or some chicken nuggets.
As I mentioned, getting everyone together becomes more difficult once they’re off on their own. Some years we’re lucky if we can all get together for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Those times that we do are truly special and it always amazes me that we all seem to pick up right where we left off, like no time has passed.
If Sunday Dinner is still a thing for you, I salute you. Continuing that tradition in this crazy busy world is something to be proud of. If it’s something you think you’d like to start, go for it! My only suggestion would be —- no phones at the table. I think everyone should have to put their phone in a basket before they sit down. “We’re going to have family time and you’re going to like it!”
Let me know how that works out for you.
I think people today are just so tied up with what they’re doing and all the things they feel they need to do that we just don’t slow down enough. Trust me, I’m guilty of this too. It can be so much easier to just grab some takeout or warm up something in the microwave. However, if you can set aside the time, it can really be enjoyable to cook a big meal and share it with your special people.
Of course, if we could all have a team of producers like on “Blue Bloods” that lays out the food every week… that would be even better!
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