Wedding banquets were always clarion calls for gathering kith and kin. No table was ever long enough to seat all. Hence the conjoined table boards to make one long table. The term has come to denote a nuptial feast. Where were the “long tables” spread in Grandmother’s time? Home was the traditional venue. Those cavernous elegant mga bahay na bato (stone houses) could contain the largest of social gatherings. There were armies of servants to attend the guests. To this day, in town and barrio, there’s a leafy trellis beside the bahay kubo shading the open-air long table. In the city, however, receptions at hotels and restaurants in time became fashionable. From twilight of the reign of Spain to morning of American Empire days en grande receptions were invariably at La Palma de Mallorca, a famous Spanish hostelry in Intramurous until well into the Twenties.
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Source:
Alvina, C. & Sta. Maria, F. 1987. Essays on Philippine Culture.
