Worshiping the Kitchen Gods - Beautiful religious customs of Vietnamese people

People buy traditional offerings to send the Kitchen Gods off to heaven. (Source: VNA)

The ceremony to worship Ong Cong and Ong Tao is one of the beautiful cultural features of Vietnamese Tet.

Every year on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, Vietnamese people prepare to buy offerings, prepare to worship Ong Cong and Ong Tao and release carp to send Ong Cong and Ong Tao to heaven.

No one knows exactly when the custom of worshiping Ong Cong and Ong Tao began, but we only know that it has existed for a long time, has been passed down from ancient times to the present day, entered the subconscious of many generations of Vietnamese people and become a beautiful feature in Tet culture.

A beautiful religious custom

Worshiping the Kitchen Gods is a long-standing custom in Vietnam. According to legend, the Kitchen Gods are the gods who govern the land in the house, and the Kitchen Gods are the three kitchen gods who oversee the kitchen.

The Kitchen Gods were sent down to earth by God to monitor and record the good and evil deeds of people. And every year, on the 23rd of December, these gods ride carp to Heaven to report all the good and bad deeds of people throughout the past year so that Heaven can decide their merits and sins.

Therefore, in the Vietnamese concept, Mr. Cong and the three Kitchen Gods (or Kitchen Gods) are the gods who determine the good and bad fortune and blessings for the family. Of course, this blessing comes from the moral actions of the homeowner and the people in the house.

With the wish for their family to have good luck, every year, on the 23rd of December, people hold a ceremony to send the Kitchen Gods to heaven.

Offerings to worship Ong Cong and Ong Tao usually include one set of Ong Cong paper and three sets of Ong Tao paper. In addition, there are incense, flowers, cakes, fruits, areca nuts, betel; and a carefully prepared, complete tray of food with sticky rice, chicken, ham, spring rolls, bamboo shoot soup, vermicelli... However, in reality, depending on the ability of each family, families can offer a vegetarian tray of food.

The ceremony to worship the Kitchen God is usually held before 12 noon on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month (it can be held at noon or evening on the 22nd day of the 12th lunar month or in the morning of the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month) because folklore believes that after 12 noon the Kitchen God will go to heaven and will not receive offerings.

According to legend, carp is the only vehicle that can take the Kitchen Gods to heaven. Therefore, on this day, families worship carp. Some families may buy paper carp, but most families usually buy 3 carp and put them in a basin of water next to the offering tray. After the ceremony, they take them to the river and release them, implying that the fish will turn into a dragon, pass the Dragon Gate, and be the vehicle for the Kitchen Gods to ride to heaven.

In addition, in the Vietnamese mind, "fish jumping over the Dragon Gate" or "carp transforming into a dragon" also carries the meaning of sublimation, symbolizing the spirit of overcoming difficulties, perseverance, and determination to conquer knowledge to achieve success, symbolizing a hidden noble personality or aiming for a good result.

To make the custom of worshiping Ong Cong and Ong Tao more meaningful

According to Vietnamese tradition, on the day of worshiping Ong Cong and Ong Tao, they go to heaven to report everything in the family to the Jade Emperor. People often clean the house and kitchen, prepare a meal to send Ong Cong and Ong Tao to heaven. This belief is rich in humanistic meaning, guiding people to actively do good deeds and live honestly.

The homeowner asked to burn clothes and hats to send the Kitchen Gods to Heaven. (Photo: Hoang Hieu/VNA)

In addition to these similarities, depending on regional customs, the rituals of worshiping Ong Cong and Ong Tao in the three regions of North, Central and South have certain differences, but in general, they all show the homeowner's respect for the god who governs the blessings in the house.

However, today this custom is being misunderstood both in its form and in the minds of some people. If according to tradition, the ceremony to worship Ong Cong and Ong Tao only requires a tray of rice, sweet tea, betel and areca nuts, fruits... nowadays many families prepare very expensive ceremonies.

Many people spend millions of dong buying a lot of votive paper to burn with the belief that if they offer a large tray of offerings, the Kitchen God will erase their bad deeds and bestow many blessings.

As for the custom of releasing carp, it is not only considered a means to help the Kitchen Gods ascend to heaven, but also, from a Buddhist perspective, releasing carp shows compassion as well as the humanitarian tradition of our people. From an environmental perspective, releasing carp also contributes to biodiversity in the areas where the fish are released.

That's the theory, but in reality, improper fish release along with poor awareness of a part of the population causes negative impacts on the environment.

Therefore, when releasing fish, people need to pay attention to a few things such as: choosing to buy fish that look agile and do not have peeling scales; choosing to release fish into the right environment where they can live; not throwing the whole bag of fish into the lake, making it impossible for the fish to escape; picking up and throwing away nylon bags in the right place... Each person should be more aware of protecting the green and clean environment, both practicing thrift and preserving the traditional cultural features of the nation.

The Kitchen Gods' Day is approaching, and the Lunar New Year is also coming. Hopefully, all the wrong and unsavory actions and deeds will soon be corrected so that everyone can have a happy and meaningful Tet.

According to VNA