-The people have become impoverished! - the lady who has crossed the line of the eightieth birthday is now lamenting. A very interesting lady - she, despite her age, is cheerful and full of energy, travels around her relatives, and loves to fall on his head as a kind of surprise-gift, and everywhere, always expresses his opinion about and without.
The lady is relatives to a certain strange degree to friends of my family, so we sometimes witness lamentations about her arrival... Well, and the first listeners of wonderful stories. About impoverishment, for example.
According to the lady, it is expressed in the depletion of holiday and guest tables. Earlier, the guest was only on the doorstep, and the owners are already sweeping everything that is best on the table. Now you won't wait for a festive table with intimate gatherings. The hosts do not try too hard for the sake of the guest - the people have become impoverished
On the one hand, this position seems to me a little ridiculous (after all, they don’t go on a visit!) And resembles calculations either zealous people, or stingy people: we will eat up the amount that we spend on a gift, or at a loss to visit ourselves let's go?
On the other hand, and to be honest, what is called the culture of feasts has changed a lot now.
The festive table of Soviet times is filled with plates, salad bowls, dishes so that there is no free space. These are jugs with fruit drink and homemade compote, a lot of pickles, jams, slices, cheese-vegetable-meat, necessarily - jellied meat, jellied fish, necessarily - baked chicken, invitingly sparkling with its tanned sides and a mountain of boiled potatoes, sandwiches... Sweets in a box and a cake like decoration!
I heard a version that the tradition of forcing the table to failure went from the fact that there was a problem with food in the USSR, and making the table was a way to demonstrate their wealth - firstly, well, and a good tasty meal - during second.
I don’t know, I don’t know... If you dig deeper, the tradition of hospitable and excessive feasts in Russia existed even before the revolution and in times such that it is impossible to look into their depths. And it existed not only in Russia. In all countries. Because to devour, pardon the rudeness, everyone loves!
As for the present times, yes, the tables have become more modest, much more modest. But also more interesting. I like it: let there be a couple of dishes, but interesting and unusual, for me this pleasure is much more than filling my stomach with the usual, familiar. I'm interested in new tastes.
I like the fact that alcohol is not accepted now, just serve it in boxes. In the end, the people were not going to get drunk.
And I do not consider such tables a sign of impoverishment or, even worse, greed and greed, and at the same time - disrespect for guests. In general, food must be treated reasonably, and after classic feasts, usually a lot of food flies to trash can (took a bite, but left it), and eaters seize everything with mezim - the greed of the fraer destroys, as known.
Which tables do you like best: the Soviet version or the more modern one? Do you think that if the table is not bursting with treats, is it because of poverty or disrespect for guests?