Friday Lunches that Last Until Dinner
The Friday ritual of meeting up with friends around 2pm and staying out until 11pm. Because lunch isn't just about eating, it's about connecting.
In Andalucía there’s a common practice that I truly think would change lives of professionals across the world if it was instated everywhere. Here it’s very common for people to finish work around 1 or 2pm on Fridays. They typically work longer days Monday - Thursday and then this is compensated in having a shorter day Friday. And people don’t just rush home so they can sit on their couch and watch Netflix. Instead, early Fridays are an excuse to gather with fellow work colleagues or friends for pre-lunch cañas, and then have lunch somewhere, and then eat said lunch for approx 2-3 hours as is the Spanish way. From there you head to a cafetería or a copas spot to have coffee or continue with post-lunch socializing, and often times end up eating dinner with either the same group or the expanded group as people tend to trickle in throughout the tarde.
Last Friday was one of these days, we were at our lunch spot for a few hours and because we had a nice table out in the sun we decided to stay and enjoy it (my boyfriend and I stayed until 8pm, which was “early”, everyone else continued the Friday festivities through dinner). As we sat there, I marveled at the street, littered with tables and chairs that were brimming with a constant stream of people from 1pm until 8pm. When we left, the street was still packed with people who had been there since lunch, or people who arrived from another lunch spot to continue socializing.
A second interesting piece to point out is that it’s very rare to see tables of 2 on these Friday lunch gatherings. All of the tables around us last Friday had at least 8 people per table. Sevillanos like to gather in big groups, they truly live the term “the more the merrier”. Socializing is about the community experience. There never seems to be the concern: “will this person get along with that person”, or “should I not invite so and so because I’m not sure if they’ll like the group”. It’s like everyone is programmed to include everyone and interact from a group-think mentality. Everyone always finds a place in the group. I guess because the hangout isn’t about you, it’s about everyone.
This Spanish phenomena isn’t just restricted to Fridays, it can happen any weekday or weekend (obviously more common on weekends). The other day we were out with friends who told us casually they had gone to lunch on Tuesday and didn’t get home until 10pm! Granted they have flexible work schedules and were able to permit this. But it’s not uncommon that I’ll head out for lunch on a weekday and be out for at least a solid 2 hours. Quite a stark contrast to when I’m visiting the U.S. and can easily be at lunch for 30 minutes to an hour. It’s like get in, eat your food, and hasta luego until the next quick lunch visit. Lunch here isn’t just about eating, it’s about socializing, spending time together, sharing a moment. And most importantly, connecting.
This is so interesting - I wonder though what the attitude to alcohol is like in that long afternoon of socialising. Here in the UK everyone would be blind drunk by evening, but I suspect it's slower and steadier in Spain?