EATS: So What's The Deal With Brunch?

I'm reminded of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry's girlfriend quips in true Seinfeld fashion,"so what's the deal with brunch? I mean if it's a combination of breakfast and lunch, how come there's no lupper or no linner?"

Why exactly isn't there a lupper or a linner? I'm all for more meals in a day. How did brunch become a thing? A profound old sage with a hangover- Sir Pancakes McOmelet stood upon a mountain top and pondered, "hmmm, I could eat in between breakfast and lunch...let's call it...brunch!" As a light shone down from the heavens and so it was done. The origins of brunch are a bit more complicated. As with most culinary traditions there's a bit of uncertainty. 

It's possible that the first brunch was in England, where post-hunt  they would feast on a lavish meal including meats, eggs, and pastries in the afternoon. Some food historians (yes, that's a real job, and yes, I want that job) believe the origin of brunch to have started with Catholics who would fast before Sunday mass, and then enjoy a hearty afternoon meal. If left New Yorkers they would claim the tradition started in the "city that never sleeps" with bagels and lox. Legend has it that Eggs Benedict was invented at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in 1894 when a hungover guest requested the artery-clogging concoction. 

The first usage of the word "brunch" in print dates back to 1895 in a British article from "Hunter's Weekly". Singing the praises of a heavy after-church Sunday meal, the article called it "cheerful, sociable, and enticing." The concept of brunch became popular in the United States in the 1930's. The idea rose to prominence because church attendance was dropping post World War II, so people were sleeping in but still wanting to be social. The post-war era was a time of industrialization and social change, with more women entering the workforce, dining out on a Sunday afternoon became more and more of a necessity for "Sunday relief". 

Regardless of its true origin brunch is here to stay, and what a relief that is! Now if we could work on popularizing lupper and linner, please.