The word picnic comes from the French word “pique-nique.” The word appears in print for the first time in Tony Willis’ 1692 Origines de la Langue Française, which mentions “pique-nique” as being recent. It referred to a group of people dining in a restaurant who brought their own wine. Picnics were long associated with a meal to which everyone contributed.
Picnicking has evolved from an upper-class luxury to a cheap way to spend an afternoon with friends. Picnics became popular during the French Revolution. Several French aristocrats fled to other Western countries, carrying their picnicking traditions with them. The royal parks of France became a popular meeting place for people of all classes after the Revolution.
Here are some historical photos of people enjoying their picnics from the past.
