If you’re an avid Downton Abbey viewer and pay scary close attention to details, you may have noticed that the Crawleys are never shown sitting down to the dinner table. Well, it turns out that’s not by accident. The beloved lord and ladies of the Abbey are always show part-way through a meal to avoid seeing them say grace. According to The Telegraph the show’s executives won’t allow prayers or any religious themes to be shown. Christianity would have been an important aspect of life in the 1920s, but despite many attempts by historical advisor Alastair Bruce to incorporate religion into the show, execs have steered clear of any religious references or symbols. Bruce told The Telegraph:
“In essence, you hardly ever see a table that isn’t already sat at. We never see the beginning of a luncheon or a dinner, because no one was ever allowed to see a grace being said, and I would never allow them to sit down without having said grace. I think that the view was that we’d leave religion out of it, and it would’ve taken extra time, too. I suggested a Latin grace, but they decided that was too far, and no one would’ve known what was going on.”
Didn’t our grandmothers always warn us that if you don’t say grace before dinner, you’ll choke on your food? It’s amazing more characters don’t experience more airway blockage at the Downton banquets.
