Recently, my Mental Floss Word A Day Calendar featured the familiar word companion, which means a friend, an associate, or one that accompanies another. What I didn’t realize was how much companion has to do with food! As we prepare to gather with friends and family on November 27th to celebrate Thanksgiving, I think companion is a word we all should contemplate.
Etymology
Companion comes from the Latin com-, meaning with, and –panis, meaning bread or food. So, it literally means “one whom you break bread with.” Other Latin based languages have similar words. The French word copain means friend, and the Italian word compagno means mate. I never realized this word for a friend was tied to eating, and yet, the meaning makes a lot of sense, especially when we consider the importance of shared meals in our culture.
Cultural relevance
Many of the world’s main religious traditions have ritual meals that symbolize unity and faith. In Christian churches, people gather regularly to consume bread and wine as the Eucharist or Communion, which is a reenactment of The Last Supper, or the last time Jesus shared a meal with his disciples. In the Jewish faith, people gather to eat the Passover Seder, a commemoration of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Each day during Ramadan, Muslims break their dawn to dusk fast with the Iftar meal, which usually starts with the consumption of dates, a fruit favored by the prophet Muhammad.
Outside of religion, Americans are drawn to communal meals as a form of celebration and unification. We gather to share meals on special occasions, like wedding receptions, birthdays, and holidays. The most notable shared meal is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving-like gatherings started in America in the 1600’s as a way to celebrate the harvest. They persisted until 1789 when President George Washington declared a day of “public Thanksgiving and prayer” on Thursday, November 26. Many presidents followed his lead, proclaiming days to be set aside for thanksgiving. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared that Thanksgiving Day would be observed annually on the fourth Thursday of November. The dates shifted a bit under different presidents after that, but in 1941, a Joint Resolution of Congress officially declared the fourth Thursday of November to be Thanksgiving Day, and that’s how we have celebrated it for the past century. All of this hasn’t happened by chance. Science shows us that people are social creatures, and we crave the connection of eating together.
More and more experts agree that social engagement is critical for happiness and well-being. According to the World Happiness Report of 2025, sharing meals with others is the most important predictor of increased positive mood. According to the data, eating a meal with someone had a more beneficial effect on well-being than income or employment. Sharing a meal brings us in close proximity to others as we meet a basic physical need together. And social scientists have been telling us for decades that families that eat dinner together develop stronger bonds than families that do not. Food is a universal language, and we can all appreciate its importance, no matter where we live or what religion we do or do not practice.
However, the same World Happiness Report noted a concerning trend. More people eat alone now than in previous years. In 2023, 25% of people surveyed ate all of their meals alone. And more young people are eating meals by themselves. It was a tendency that started before the COVID 19 pandemic and has continued to increase in the years after it.
Since we know how important sharing a meal can be for personal well-being, we should look for more opportunities to invite others to eat with us and be true companions. Sharing a meal, on Thanksgiving or any other day, offers the opportunity for connection and discussion, a chance to embrace our shared traditions and understand our differences. Many powers in the world today are trying to pull us apart. We can counteract that with the simple act of enjoying food in the company of others.
How will you celebrate companionship this Thanksgiving?
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
