Holiday bread "swallow platter" is a round threedayer sandwich filled with jujubes on each layer (some with eggs and jujubes). ccording to local folks, "it is Chinese New Year bread. In spring, swallows are coming back, and the "swallow platter" is to make a nest for them." The three layers symbolize the sky, people and earth; and the jujubes and eggs are meant for good harvest and lots of children.
In northern Shaanxi, a floury flower used as tribute to god on Chinese New Year is "The Mountain of jujubes," made with winding noodles and jujubes in between in a pattern of "a snake twining round eggs." The jujube is a symbol of good harvest and many children. In Shanxi, the "mountain of jujubes" is "Two babies (a boy and a girl) with coiled hair," representing Fuxi and Niu Wa, two very first ancestors of Chinese nationals according to an ancient fairy tale.
