this time of a year

I have been eating a lot lately. It was scary to find out I even had to try larger size pants in the store. But what can I do? My stomach has a huge nostalgia around this time every year.

Chinese New Year is just around the corner, which is the biggest holiday in China, and in my family too. Delicious and everlasting food would be my memory. Actually, my memory for the whole China would be based on food.

Usually on New Year's Eve, we have a family dinner together, which is as important as Thanksgiving dinner here. My dad was the head chef. My mom was his assistant. It would be either me or my brother who washed the dishes though we never volunteered. Then after dinner, we gather around and watch the New Year's show until it passes 12pm. In the old days, we would go out and ignite some fireworks, but it's prohibited in cities now.

The first thing in the next morning is that we say blessings to everyone in the family. Then we visit our relatives around town and give them blessings too. Even now, I still keep the tradition by calling my family on their New Year day, if there is no traffic in the phone lines.

Besides the food, there were two more things I liked about the holiday as a child. First, I got new clothes. Secondly, people gave me money. It wasn't a lot, but as a child, I felt like I was the richest person in the world.