Many cultures are based around meals, so when do you eat dinner? There are a lot of factors involved. Dinner time can vary significantly depending on where you are located. For example, there are a lot of people native to Europe who are used to eating dinner at a time that is closer to bedtime. Then, there are some situations where people tend to eat dinner earlier.
In the United States, most people imagine dinner as being between 6 and 6:30 p.m., but there are a lot of factors involved. For example, younger people tend to stay up later, so young adults may wait until 8 or 9 p.m. to have dinner. On the other hand, many elderly individuals are already asleep by that time, so they might have dinner at 4 or 5 p.m.
There are some people who believe that the average dinner time might vary by state; however, that is not necessarily the case. Regardless of where you are located in the United States, dinner tends to be served at the same time. All you have to do is take a look at what time restaurants open for dinner service.
The vast majority of restaurants, no matter where you are located in the United States, tend to open for dinner starting at 5 p.m. There are some that are open for dinner as early as 4 p.m. In contrast, if you take a look at Europe, there are lots of restaurants that don't open for dinner until 7 p.m. Even though there are some restaurants in the United States that might not open until 5:30 or 6 p.m., they tend to be nice, fancy restaurants that are hosting large events.
There are plenty of reasons why someone might decide to eat dinner earlier. The most common reason why people decide to eat dinner earlier is that they plan on going to bed earlier. You want to have time to digest your food before you go to bed, which is why some people might eat dinner at 5 p.m. For example, if a family has young children, they might want to put them to bed by 7 p.m. This means that they need to eat dinner by 5 p.m. to have time to clean up after dinner, bathe their kids, and get them ready for bed.
It is not necessarily rude to eat dinner late as long as people know ahead of time. For example, if you are hosting a dinner party, you should have a time in mind regarding when you would like to eat. That way, people can plan the rest of their day accordingly. You do not want them to be starving when they show up for dinner. If you eat dinner late, you also need to be cognizant of your neighbors, who might be getting ready for bed.