The best – and most important – thing about Chinese New Year for me is the reunion dinner. That tradition of having the whole family together at the table, enjoying a feast, gives a deeper meaning to the whole festival.

But as we grow older, it gets harder to have everyone in one place on Chinese New Year eve. The sister goes off to her husband’s hometown, the eldest brother celebrates with his in-laws, and a few of the grown-up nieces and nephews sometimes can’t even be bothered to show up on time. Still, we always manage to make do with our own small celebration.