January 20th is National Potluck Day

What is it?

Potluck dinners are events where the people bring a dish to a meal. Potluck dinners simplify the meal planning and distribute the costs among the participants. Smaller, more informal get-togethers with distributed food preparation may also be called potlucks. The only traditional rule is that each dish needs to be  large enough to be shared among a good portion of the guests. In some cases each participant agrees in advance to bring a single dish, and the result is a multi-course meal. This is done to avoid the problem of many participants bringing the same dish. Guests may bring in any form of food, going all the wy from the main course to desserts.

Where does the word come from?

In general, a potluck is a gathering where each guest or group contributes a different, often homemade dish of food to be shared. People believe its origin comes from the English words “pot” and “luck”. The word pot-luck appears in the 16th century English work of Thomas Nashe, and used to mean "food provided for an unexpected or uninvited guest, the luck of the pot." However, the modern form of potluck is a "communal meal, where guests bring their own food”. This more modern form most likely originated in the 1930s during the Depression.

Adapted from: https://wiwiki.kfd.me/_en/_mobile/wiki/Potluck