Eight Treasures Box Snack Tray

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Eight Treasures Box Snack Tray,
The Talking Nuts

You’ll see the "Eight Treasures Box" presented to you almost every time when visiting your Chinese friends or relative in Singapore during the Chinese New Year period.

You’ll find each compartment of the box filled with snacks like melon seeds, chocolate, candy, and assorted nuts.

There are meanings for each item placed in the box. One of my friends said that the box is more like talking nuts. Why the older generations gone through so much putting this type of seed and that type of nut in the "eight treasures box" to send the messages like smooth sailing years, happy, wealthy, and long line of descendants?

Well, I saw it as an art to communicate the well-wishes message through the symbols.

I am not sure whether the younger generation aware about the symbol has in it.

Probably when the Chinese New Year festive season arrives and many places including groceries stores selling the "eight treasure box" they may think that the box is just a snack tray with octagonal shape.

I hope they will appreciate the meaning of the items put inside the box too.

Let’s see the items placed in the box traditionally and its meaning:

Peanuts	Symbolizing a long line of descendants.
Melon Seeds	It has the same meaning as peanut – to symbolize a long line of descendants.
Pistachio	The name of this nut in Mandarin literally means "a happy fruit" because its half-cracked shell resembles a smile. So, beside of long line descendants the pistachio is also symbolizing a joyous new year.
Candied Kumquats	It symbolizes a sweet, prosperous, and lucky year ahead.
Honeyed Dates	It symbolizes a mix of long line descendants and a sweet year ahead.
Chocolates Shaped Like Gold Ingots	It symbolizes a great wealth.
Candied Lotus Root	It symbolizes numerous offspring.
Milk Candy (e.g. White Rabbit Candy)	It symbolizes a sweet and abundant year ahead.

According to history and story told for generations, the eight treasures box was typically made of lacquer used by royalties in the Qing Dynasty between sixteen to early nineteen centuries to store small items such as precious jade pieces.

The box which has eight compartments was then used as snack tray during Chinese festive season. Its octagonal trigram is a significant number in Taoism and Buddhism.

In Mandarin the octagonal trigram was known as "Ba Gua" which represented by eight symbols such as the Lotus and Wheel.

I think now many people choose the "Eight Treasure Box" for practicality and ease.

These days you can find macadamias, cashew nut, marshmallow, cookies, and any shape of chocolates presented to you in the box.

Eight Treasures Box Snack Tray, The Talking Nuts

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Eight Treasures Box Snack Tray,
The Talking Nuts