My favorite Holiday.

Of all the holidays throughout the year, New Year’s Eve is by far my favorite. I like New Year’s Eve because I always get travel to my hometown in Casablanca, Morocco for a week or two. Therefore I get to spend time with my big family which includes my grandparents, my parents, my aunts, uncles and cousins. We get to share an amazing time together and welcome a great a new year. What better way to celebrate New Year’s Eve than to celebrate it with the ones you love.

First of all, my grand-mother cooks the best Moroccan and French food on that special day, she usually makes a big buffet to feed everyone in my big family. She always cooks a couscous which is a traditional Moroccan plate that consists of semolina (tiny granules of wheat) which is cooked by steaming and served with meat and vegetables spooned over it. The second best traditional plate is Mechoui which is lamb roasted on a barbecue, really delicious.
And for the French cuisine she makes the best fondue in the world which consist of different types of cheeses melted together and eaten by dipping long forks with bread. She also makes a plate of different types of cheeses like “fromage bleu” which is blue cheese, Camembert, Brie and she adds on a little bit of “Pate de froie gras” which is French for fat liver, it is made of the liver of a duck or a goose that has been specially fattened. Then, next to that plate you will find a basket of French baguette. And, for the fish lovers she makes this exquisite plate of fresh salmon with sour cream and mushrooms, then next to it you will find fresh oysters, clams and mussels. The mussels are my favorite. She cooks them in this special sauce with white wine, herbs and sour cream. For desert she makes “crème brulee” and a “mousse au chocolat”. For the drinks menu she has a full bar of anything you would like from champagne, wine and soft drinks.

So while my grand-mother takes care of our taste buds. My cousins and I usually take care of the artistic part which is decorating. We dress my grandparent’s big house with balloons, confetti and New Year hats and much more. My mother and my aunts try to help my grand-mother with the kitchen. My dad, Grand-father and uncles usually barbeque or they just sit outside in the garden and drink beer or wine while they have multiple conversations about the kids and wives.
Then when it hits 6PM or so everyone goes to get ready and wear their beautiful dresses and suits. Then we gather around in the living room or if it is not too cold we have the party outside in the garden next to the pool. We usually have music on and some of us are dancing and the rest is just chatting about what happened throughout the year. Everyone is having an amazing time. Then around 9:30PM all the girls go to the kitchen to help serve all the beautiful dishes that grandma made. We put them on a long buffet table, then everyone gathers for a feast. Dinner lasts for few hours. Then my cousins and I distribute all the hats because it is time to count the seconds until midnight to celebrate the beautiful upcoming New Year. Everyone is shouting “Happy New Year!” or as we say in French “Bonne Annee!”. Everybody is kissing and hugging each other while you can see the joy and excitement in their faces, and that is what makes that moment so special to me. The fact that I can see everyone that I love so happy makes it the best holiday that I have ever experienced. I cannot wait for 2014 to come!