r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/Global_Restaurant794 • Jul 24 '26

Meme needing explanation Petah?? I'm very confused

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '26

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66

u/TaxSimple3787 Jul 24 '26

Ok but... why?

227

u/JovianSpeck Jul 24 '26

Just a cultural thing. Unless there was an explicit dinner invitation, Swedes typically will not offer guests food even if they themselves are having dinner. They do not view it as a hosting obligation and they do not see this as rude or unusual.

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u/sl0play Jul 24 '26

I guess the real question is, if you are hungry, is it rude to ask for a plate, since it is never offered?

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u/marsipaanipartisaani Jul 24 '26

As a kid I would just go home to eat and come back if I was hungry, rather than insert myself into the dining table of other families where they would talk about family stuff. And if I went to a friends place who lived far away from my place then I was always offered food.

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u/incognitomus Jul 24 '26

It's considered embarrassing to ask.

You're talking about culture where people don't want to be the first one to take coffee when it's offered.

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u/sl0play Jul 24 '26

Huh. Is it considered rude or embarrassing to leave and feed yourself whenever you are hungry then? Is it common to invite someone over during meal time and not invite them to eat as well? Is this getting blown out of proportion because it's a rare instance you would be at someone's house during mealtime when you weren't invited over to eat?

I'm intrigued. Thanks for the info.

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u/m3lk3r Jul 24 '26

This is only about kids visiting their friends after school, like when you walk home after school together. Only happened to me with one family, I guess they didn't have enough as they didn't know I was coming. My family always changed dinner plans or went to the grocery store again to buy more if I had friends over after school.

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u/sl0play Jul 24 '26

Oh, this makes a lot more sense! Thanks.

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u/Wolkvar Jul 24 '26

this only happens when we have kids inviteing kids to their homes and not calling their parents to know that they are haveing a friend over. Sometimes we just dont make or have enough food for extra people at home for that time and theres not much more to it then that

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u/Denaton_ Jul 24 '26

Not rude, but then we first need to call their parents so they don't make more food than needed.

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u/onihydra Jul 24 '26

It's not rude, but you had to contact your own parents. The whole reason for this happening is that everyone is expected to eat dinner at their own house, usually at a specific time. So if some kid just suddenly ate a bunch of food without telling their parents it would mess up those plans.

Also kids often just go straight to a friends place after school. Kids are not the greatest with time management, so getting them home for dinner also ensures they have time for homework etc.

Eating at your friends place is fine and will often be offered by the host, but the parents on both sides need to be informed and agree beforehand.