Worship of Kitchen Gods - beautiful custom of Tet
People in Quang Ninh release carps to give Ong Cong – Ong Tao (Land Genie and the Kitchen Gods) a ride to Heaven to deliver an annual report on the household’s activities to the God of Heaven today. This is one of the most sacred and meaningful annual events that officially starts the traditional Tet (Lunar New Year).
According to legend, every family has three kitchen gods overseeing the household’s affairs. On the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, each kitchen god (Ông Táo) returns to the Jade Emperor, the King of Heaven, on the back of a carp fish. The kitchen gods report back to the Jade Emperor on each family’s affairs for that past year.
In the hope of a good report, on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, people clean their house and kitchen and prepare a feast to send off the Kitchen Gods. Golden carp are the only form of transportation that can take the Kitchen Gods to Heaven, because, when released into a lake or river, they transform into dragons.
It is also a tradition to release live carps in rivers and lakes as a means of transport for the gods and also as a sign of good deed to invite good luck.
With the appropriate practice of the Land Genie and Kitchen Gods worship, people can help uphold and pass down traditional cultural values in the modern life.
