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In contemporary usage, picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors, ideally, taking place in a beautiful landscape.
Formerly, picnic meant a potluck, an entertainment at which each person contributed some dish to a common table for all to share.
The first usage of the word was traced to a 16th century French text, describing a group of people dining in a restaurant who brought their own wine. A theory has it that the word picnic is based on the verb piquer which means 'pick' or 'peck' with the rhyming nique perhaps meaning trifle.
The 1692 edition of Origines de la Langue Françoise de Ménage, which mentions 'piquenique' as being of recent origin, marks the first appearance of the word in print. The word picnic first appeared in English texts in the mid- 1700s, and may have entered the English language from this French word or from the German Picknick.
1 Language
- While in British and American English one would say "driving in rush hour traffic is no picnic", an Australian or New Zealander would say "driving in rush hour traffic is a real picnic"; these reversed idioms both suggesting a difficult task.
- In the late 1990s an e-mail hoax spread around the internetThis article is about the Internet the extensive, worldwide computer network available to the public. An internet is a more general term for a set of interconnected computer networks that are connected by internetworking''. WWW information network structu claiming that the word "picnic" was actually derived from racist term for a lynching. This claim had no basis in fact. See: Snopes.com urban legends reference page
- In established parks, a picnic area generally includes picnic table s and possibly other items related to eating outdoors, such as built-in barbeque grillThere are multiple varieties of grills with most falling into one of two categories: gas- fueled and charcoal. Gas-fueled grills typically use propane gas as their fuel source, with gas- flame either cooking food directly or heating grilling elements whics, water faucetsIn most developed nations water is piped to homes, and is available on tap. The provision of tap water requires a massive infrastructure of piping, pumps, and water purification works. The cost of tap water is a small fraction of bottled water. The same w, garbage containers, and restrooms.
2 Law
- Picnicking is sometimes not allowed in amusement parkAmusement park is the more generic term for a collection of amusement rides and other entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a fairly large group of people. An amusement park is more elaborate than a simple city park or playgrs, etc, because it could damage the turnover of restaurants, cafetarias and food kiosks in the park.
- "Picnicking" in the wider sense of eating brought-along food, may or may not be allowed in public transporttaxi serving as a bus Public transport comprises all transport systems in which the passengers do not travel in their own vehicles. It is also called public transit or mass transit . While it is generally taken to mean rail and bus services, wider definit.
3 Related historical events
After the French Revolution in 1789, royal parks became open to the public for the first time. Picnicking in the parks became a popular activity amongst the newly enfranchised citizens.
Early in the 19th century, a fashionable group of Londoners formed the ' Picnic Society '. Members met in the Pantheon on Oxford Street. Each member was expected to provide a share of the entertainment and of the refreshments with no one particular host. Interest in the society waned in the 1850s as the founders died.
The image of picnics as a peaceful social activity can be utilised for political protest too. In this context, a picnic functions as a temporary occupation of significant public territory. A famous example of this is the Paneuropean Picnic held on both sides of the Hungarian / Austrian border on the August 19, 1989 as part of the struggle towards German reunification.
In the year 2000, a 600-mile-long picnic took place from coast to coast in France to celebrate the first Bastille Day of the new Millennium. In the United States, likewise, the 4th of July celebration of American independence is a popular day for a picnic.