merienda

thumb|Typical merienda fare thumb|Typical vespertine merienda in the Andalusia|South of Spain thumb|Traditional serving of merienda in Café El Gato Negro, [[Buenos Aires: medialunas (croissants), café en jarrito (a double espresso coffee) and a little glass of sparkling water]] thumb|A typical meryenda in the Philippines, [[tsokolate with suman rice cakes and ripe carabao mangoes]] Merienda is a light meal in southern Europe, particularly Spain (merenda in Galician, berenar in Catalan), Portugal (lanche, merenda) and Italy (merenda), whence the word spread to Serbo-Croatian in, according to dictionaries, the Venetian dialectal format marenda, and was popularised throughout all of former Yugoslavia as an official snack in the Yugoslav People's Army, as well as France (goûter), Hispanic America, the Philippines (meryenda/merienda), North Africa, and Brazil (lanche, merenda or café da tarde). Usually taken in the afternoon or for brunch, it fills in the meal gap between the noontime meal and the evening meal, being the equivalent of afternoon tea in the English-speaking world, or between breakfast and lunch. It is a simple meal that often consists of a piece of fruit, bread, biscuits, yogurt, and other snacks accompanied by fruit juice, milk, hot chocolate, coffee, spirits, or other beverages.

It is typical for Argentines, Paraguayans, and Uruguayans to have merienda around 5:00pm, between the midday meal and supper. It generally consists of an infusion (e.g., tea, mate, coffee, mate cocido, etc.) and a baked snack (e.g., scones, bread, toasts, cake, facturas, etc.), usually accompanied with dulce de leche, honey, butter or jam.