How to set a formal table

Downton Abbey here played two years after the USA, and we were big fans.

I now hear they are planning a movie with the characters.

but of course, in the US, no one has butlers and maids or cooks except the very rich.

From Librivox: The History of the art of Tablesetting.

ebook here

from the book:

"Who Can Live Without Dining?" 

We may live without poetry, music and art ; 
We may live without conscience, and live without heart ; 
We may live without friends ; we may live without books ; 
But civilized man cannot live without cooks. 

We may live without books — what is knowledge but 

grieving? 
We may live without hope — what is hope but deceiving? 
We may live without love — what is passion but pining? 
But where is the man who can live without dining? 

— Owen Meredith. 

Photos of how to set a table at Martha Stewart:

so where do you get all that sivler ware?

Usually it is given to you when you marry. My mother had a good set of (plated) silver and my mother's china and crystal glass was only used for family celebrations.

The china was my grandmothers, but my mother said she got the lovely crystal glasses during the depression when she attended movie theaters with her friends.

And indeed, here is an article that mentions this practice.

At this point I should note that Americans and Europeans use their forks and spoons differently.


=

==in contrast, here is a humorous tutorial for Filipino eating (in an informal setting)


and yes, we eat rice three times a day. Even McD and KFC have rice.