Old home week

Posted by ESC on May 06, 2000

In Reply to: Origin and meanin of phrase posted by Kathy on May 06, 2000

: Does anyone know the origin and the meaning of the phrase "Old home week"? Thank-you for any assistance.

In my part of the U.S., the mountains of West Virginia, many of the young people have to leave the area for college, the military or jobs. So churches (and sometimes families) have "homecoming" and everyone tries to make it back for the day. At my home church, it's on a Sunday and there are special services followed by "dinner on the ground." The dinner is picnic-style in a nearby wooded area. We call it "the big dinner."

I imagine that "old home week" is the same kind of occasion. Another term: we always call the place of our birth, "the home place," no matter how many years we've been away.

West Virginians are known for traveling back home whenever we can. Here's a WV joke: A newcomer to heaven was being given a tour by an angel. There were gated mansions for every ethnic group. They came to one where the gate was padlocked. The newcomer asked why. The angel said, "Those are the West Virginians. We have to lock the gate every weekend to keep them from going home."