What is the difference between dinner and supper?
Fashion, class, culture, and personal choice have dictated how many and which of these repasts any particular person has. In the 19th century, some people of means in had as many as five meals through the day (having a luncheon, a tea, dinner in the evening, and then a late night supper), whereas farm laborers could have as few as two. In the United States, whether dinner was the midday or evening meal was often a matter of whether one had staff. A cook meant that the fires could be kept up all day for an evening large meal. A household without a cook would often have the dinner at midday and just a light supper in the evening as a matter of efficiency.
