The feast of the year

Of all the meals Chinese people have during the year, there is none more significant than the reunion dinner on the eve of the Lunar New Year

Weeks ahead of the Spring Festival every year, millions of Chinese migrant workers around China embark on the trip back to their home towns in order to partake in the family reunion dinner. The fact that they do so, regardless of how long and arduous the journey may be, says much about the significance of the occasion.

The tradition of sitting around a table to share a meal on the eve of the Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb 8 this year, is something that has been around for hundreds of years, and it encapsulates the Chinese people's value of family bonds.