eat, drink, swallow
餐 centers on the act of consuming food or drink: eating, drinking, and swallowing. It emphasizes the intake of nourishment.
餐 combines 食 (food/eat) with a phonetic component derived from 粲 (which itself contains 又 and 夕). The character likely originated as a phono-semantic compound where the upper part contributed the sound and the lower part indicated the meaning of eating.
The bottom is 食 (food/eat). The top looks like a hand (又) holding something at dusk (夕), suggesting a meal being consumed. Picture someone eating and drinking as the sun sets.
For サン, imagine eating under the sun: sun -> サン, and you swallow your food while basking in sunlight.
dinner (esp. a formal one)
Holy Communion; Lord's Supper; Eucharist
dining
the Lord's Supper
distribution (of bread and wine during Communion)
caring for one's health
lunch; luncheon
luncheon party
neglecting the duties of an office while taking pay
love feast; agape
love feast; agape
luncheon
banquet; dinner party
the Last Supper
(Western-style) banquet; formal dinner
plain meal
undeserved reward
Holy Communion; the Eucharist; the Lord's Supper
Lord's Supper (in Protestantism)
living in the harsh outdoors; roughing it in the wilderness; enduring a difficult journey