In the old days, Beijingers should bring gifts when visiting relatives and friends, and pay attention to giving "eight Beijing pieces", that is, "big eight pieces" and "small eight pieces". This was originally an essential gift and decoration for the wedding and funeral ceremony and daily life of the royal family in Qing Hu, and later the formula was spread to the people from the imperial kitchen. Its main components are refined white flour, sugar, lard, honey and various fruit seeds. The so-called "eight pieces", that is, eight kinds of snacks, generally have sesame cakes, jujube flowers, and crispy rolls, and some are engraved with different words such as blessing, fortune, longevity and happiness. There are round, peach, square, etc., and they are packed in a rectangular cardboard box. "Little people" are in duplicate, and sixteen pieces are packed in a paper box. In the past, when my daughter went back to her mother's house and gave a New Year greeting to her elders, I had to go to the pastry shop to buy a box of eight big pieces and carry them in my hand, which was generous and beautiful.

The big eight pieces are usually eight pieces a catty, and the small eight pieces are usually eight pieces a catty.