- Tea party
In Anglo-American culture, a
tea party is typically a formal, ritualized gathering (traditionally of women) for afternoon tea, although men may be invited to participate.The afternoon tea party was a feature of
great house s in the Victorian andEdwardian ages in theUnited Kingdom and theGilded Age in theUnited States . Although in modern life the stay-at-home wives are not as popular as in the past, and there often are no of servants at home who originated the form and practiced it on a regular basis, the formal tea party still survives as a special event, as in thedebutante teas of some affluent American communities. Its most familiar and widely known modern equivalent is probably the fancybaby shower .Formal tea parties are often characterized by the use of prestige utensils, such as
bone china or silver. The table, whatever its size or cost, is made to look its prettiest, with cloth napkins and matching cups and plates. In addition to tea, larger parties may provide punch, or in cold weather, hot chocolate. The tea is accompanied by a variety of easily managed foods: thinsandwich es, such as cucumber or tomato, cake slices, buns or rolls, and cookies are all common.In the older version, servants stayed outside of the room until needed. Writing in 1922,
Emily Post asserted that servants were never to enter the room unless rung for, to bring in fresh water and dishes or to remove used dishes. This was partly due to the rigidity of social convention at the time, but it also reflected the intimate nature of the afternoon tea. Proving the truth of eighteenth-century authorHenry Fielding 's quip that "love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea," the custom of banning servants from the drawing room during tea shows the hostess' desire to encourage free conversation among her guests. Most of the formalites of that age have disappeared, particularly since World War II, when economic changes made household servants a rarity, but afternoon tea can still provide a good opportunity for intimate conversation and a refreshing light meal.----Holding a make-believe tea party is a playtime activity stereotypical of small American girls.
ee also
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Tea culture Notes and references
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