wanking_to_got t1_jee8haf wrote on March 31, 2023 at 11:38 AM

Switching from farming to factory work.

The heaviest load is usually done by midday in farming or keeping animals. So you are starving by midday.

AudibleNod t1_jee9625 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 11:45 AM

Also, agrarian work was often very close to home. So larger midday meals with the family would be easier. If you worked at the factory, you were farther away from home and modern labor laws likely would have prevented a midday respite from a grueling 12 hour shift.

Wodan1 t1_jeerie0 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 2:14 PM

Not necessarily. People would take food with them into the fields and snack.

The main reason why people ate their main meal at midday was simply because they wanted to be able to see what they were eating. Artificial methods of light before the invention of lightbulbs were luxuries that most people couldn't afford so it made more practical sense to eat a proper meal at midday when there was the maximum amount of natural light.

During the industrial revolution, things changed as artificial lighting became more readily available, as things such as coal and candle wax became cheaper for the working classes to use on a regular basis.

hydrospanner t1_jeflimj wrote on March 31, 2023 at 5:30 PM

Seems like a little of both makes the most sense.

Long factory shifts and employers discouraging long breaks from productive work coinciding with a greater ability to cook and eat at home in the evening.