Grace saying before a meal was one such practice. A form of offering thanksgiving to remember that it was God, that provided our meal. We as kids rushed to the dining hall at the meal bell hungry as ever and stood still at the table until grace was recited by a master or the chaplain who also had the same meal. Then followed the clatter of cutlery against crockery... we were still novices with the fork and spoon.
My vivid memory goes to S Thomas’ College Gurutalawa then in the 1960s where meal settings were different to those at STPS Bandarawela where grace saying was first experienced. At Gurutalawa the breakfast was always laid at the table while dinner and lunch were of a semi-buffet style where we queued up with our plate and cutlery at the pantry to be served our portion.
So unlike at breakfast where we all sat for the meal at the same time and grace was recited before the meal, lunch and dinner had a practical issue with the grace? Everyone could not wait until the last boy was served to commence the meal. So, this issue was addressed by saying grace after the meal, still giving time for the last boy to have his meal.
My memory runs back to Suresh Markandan who would ring the small dinner gong requesting silence before breakfast for grace recital; “For the food we are about to have may the Lord’s name be praised”; and the issue with lunch and dinner was adjusted linguistically by saying “For the food we've already had may the Lord’s name be praised”.
We then as children did not see any amusement in these different formats of grace saying. However today as adults we appreciate the good practices introduced to us Christians or non-Christians to have gratitude and respect to those who toil to provide our food to the table.
Most faiths have adopted good practices that had prevailed even before their leaders came on the earth. The five precepts in Buddhism and thanksgiving for food has been practiced even before Christ and Gautama.
The word “thanks” in modern English has a rich history, while the word “grace” is most often tied to divine assistance given to humans and it is historically connected to “giving thanks” to God before or after a meal. In a certain sense, this is not surprising as the food we eat is often given to us through no effort of our own but of many others who toil on our behalf. Therefore, food is a great gift that sustains us keeps us alive and is biblically linked to God who created the earth on which it is grown.
However, I wonder if these habits of saying grace before meals are still performed in these institutions today? Most habits and traditions that we continued with are less in use or done away with completely.