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During the Spring Festival, many Chinese families will prepare a "Chinese candy box" to entertain visiting guests.
With the evolution of times, the contents of the "Chinese candy box" are nothing more than the candies and snacks that the host family likes. However, in the old times, every snack in the "Chinese candy box" has its own implication, adding up to all the auspicious things are gathered in this box. What secrets are hidden in the traditional Chinese candy box"?
Although the storage box for snacks has appeared long ago, the name "Chinese candy box" can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty's record of "Zuan box". The traditional whole box is made of lacquer wood or porcelain, and now most of it is made of plastic. The mainstream is round (symbolizing reunion and perfection), and there are also square or polygonal ones. The whole box is either red or black, with golden patterns engraved or printed on it, such as floral or dragon and phoenix patterns, or characters such as "Fu", "Lu", "Shou", and "Xi".
The mainstream inside the box now is six or nine divisions, but the boxes of ancient times were divided into three, five, and nine sections. The more sections, the higher the status of the owner. Among them, nine sections were exclusively for the royal family, five sections were used by scholars, and the general public could only use three. The central section of the box is called the "main supply", used for placing melon seeds, and picking up melon seeds is also called "grabbing silver (zi)", implying making a fortune in the new year.
In addition to melon seeds, the box also includes "Eight Sweets", which are eight kinds of candied fruits with auspicious meanings:
Candied Lotus Root: It implies "making a perfect match", some also say it represents "having every year"
Candied Coconut Shreds: Traditionally, coconuts imply "having grandfathers and sons", representing a house full of children and grandchildren
Candied Carrots: It implies "wealth and jade fill the hall"
Candied Lotus Seeds: It implies "giving birth to noble sons"
Candied Coconut Cubes: It has the same implication as Candied Coconut Shreds
Candied Winter Melon: It implies that when doing business, it will be good from beginning to end in a year
Candied Mandarins: It takes the homophonic of "gold" and "luck", implying wealth and prosperity
Candied Water Chestnuts: the shape of the water chestnut is like a shiny silver coin, it also has the meaning of attracting wealth
However, in modern times, the traditional concepts of "giving birth to noble sons early" and "a house full of children and grandchildren" are considered outdated, so many elements in the "Eight Sweets" have been replaced by chocolates, milk candies, or healthier candied fruit and nuts, with only melon seeds still standing strong.