The Chinese version of Thanksgiving, Chinese New Year. It was the holiday that our family always looked forward to every year. It meant the gathering of close family and many relatives. The beginning week of this special holiday was always busy. From being with my parents as they went through the supermarket getting groceries and planning out the dishes to seeing all my relatives come together spreading happiness. Chinese New Year’s eve dinner which was also known as the “reunion dinner” was the most important. There were so many dishes that needed to be prepared in order to celebrate this Chinese New Year tradition. These dishes were known as “lucky dishes” and by the middle of the day, the house was filled with a smell that one cannot explain. It was a mix of everything that was being prepared. Everyone in my family would chip in to make sure that this day would be as perfect as it could be. Standing there, all I could think of was the food that would be at the table and the people that I would be spending this day with. It was the sweet and savory taste of the crispy fried fish in a sweet soy sauce top with cilantro, that ginger scallion lobster dish, and a big bowl of soup that just had so many flavors and seasonings combined and even the sweet rice cake to end it all. However, this was not all of it. Each dish that is served on this day has a special meaning behind it. Eating noodles with a bit of seafood, meat, and vegetables meant longevity and that you will have a long and prosperous future ahead. For as long as I could remember, everyone always had a bit of every dish that was on the table. With all these foods that everyone was indulging, you can’t forget about the drinks. I would always have my can of sweet smooth coconut milk while others had sweet herbal tea and it was so refreshing. The last thing for us to enjoy was the homemade sweet rice cake and the glutinous rice balls that had sweet peanut filling. After all the chaos of preparing the end result was so worth it because so much quality time was spent with each other and catching up on life. Until this day, I still count down the days until I am able to experience the joy this holiday brings to all.