Collation (meal) facts for kids
The term collation refers to one or two light meals. These meals are allowed on days of fasting, especially in Western Christianity. Their purpose is to help a person perform their daily duties while fasting.
How Collation Started
Long ago, a strict Christian fast called the Black Fast was common. People would not eat until after sunset. If they followed it strictly, they did not have a collation.
After the 1300s, taking a collation became a normal part of Christian fasting. This happened in many places.
The idea of a collation first came from Benedictine monasteries. This rule started around the mid-500s. Usually, an evening meal was followed by readings. These readings came from a book by John Cassian called Collationes patrum.
However, on fasting days, there was no evening meal. Instead, readings from Collationes or Lives of the Fathers happened right after evening prayers.
By the 800s, fasting rules in Western Christianity became a bit more relaxed. People were allowed to have a small amount of water in the evening on fast days. Over many centuries, this grew. It eventually allowed a "recognized quantity of solid food" on fasting days.
The Catholic Church later defined the evening collation. It was set as less than eight ounces of food. In the 1800s, another small meal was allowed. This was called a frustulum. It could be eaten in the morning.
Collation Today
Today, on Christian fasting days like Lent (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday):
- Some Evangelical Lutheran groups say: "On fasting days, two small meals are eaten, and one regular meal in the evening."
- The Traditional Saint Augustine's Prayer Book for Anglicans defines fasting. It usually means "not more than a light breakfast, one full meal, and one half meal." This applies to the forty days of Lent.
- The Catholic Church also has rules. It says "one full meal, as well as two smaller meals." These two smaller meals together should not be as much as a full meal.
Other Ways "Collation" is Used
The term "collation" has been used in other ways too.
- In France, the court of King Louis XIV used "collation." For them, it meant any light meal.
- In British English today, a collation is still a light meal. It is offered to guests when there is not enough time for a bigger meal. It is often called a cold collation. This is because it usually does not include hot or cooked food.
- The Polish word kolacja means "supper". It comes from the word collation.
- In modern Italian, "colazione" means "breakfast." The two small meals are called prima colazione (breakfast) and seconda colazione (lunch). Lunch in Italian is pranzo.
