When do the Kitchen Gods return to earth?

The ceremony to send the Kitchen Gods to heaven on the 23rd of December is one of the most important ceremonies of the year for Vietnamese people. This day also marks the time when the Lunar New Year is just behind us. This important role makes the 23rd of December also called Tet - Tet of Kitchen Gods.

When will the Kitchen Gods return?

According to cultural research experts, the Kitchen Gods will go to heaven to "work" and stay for 7 days starting from the 23rd of December. Thus, on the 30th of December, they will return to earth and continue serving in the kitchen of each house. Therefore, the ceremony to welcome the Kitchen Gods is usually held on the 30th of Tet; in years when the 30th of December does not have a 30th, it will be celebrated on the 29th of Tet.

Some people also believe that people only know the day when the Kitchen Gods go to heaven, but do not know the exact day of their return. This depends on the specific work of the heavenly court each year, and when the Jade Emperor lets the court end, they will return. Perhaps this is also the reason why every family has a ceremony to send the Kitchen Gods to heaven on the 23rd of December, but not many families have a ceremony to welcome them, and do not even have the concept of this.

Who are Mr. Cong and Mr. Tao?

The Kitchen God in Vietnamese folk beliefs originated from the three gods Tho Cong, Tho Dia, and Tho Ky of Chinese Taoism, but was Vietnamized into the legend of "2 men and 1 woman" - the God of Earth, the God of House, the God of Kitchen, and people still commonly call them Tao Quan or Ong Tao.

According to Vietnamese legend, Thi Nhi had a husband named Trong Cao. Although they lived together in love, they had no children, so gradually Trong Cao often looked for trouble and tormented his wife.

One day, just because of a small matter, Cao made a big deal out of it, beat Thi Nhi and chased her away. Nhi left home, wandered to another land and met Pham Lang. Falling in love, the two became husband and wife. After Trong Cao calmed down, he was very regretful but his wife had already left far away. Tormented and missing her terribly, Cao set out to find his wife.

Day after day, month after month, searching forever, out of rice and money, Cao had to beg along the road, finally by chance he wandered into Thi Nhi's house to beg for food when Pham Lang was away. Recognizing the beggar as her ex-husband, Nhi invited him in to cook for her. At that moment, Pham Lang returned. Nhi was afraid that her husband would wrongly suspect her, so she hid Cao under a pile of straw in the back garden.

Unfortunately that night, Pham Lang set fire to the straw pile to get ash to fertilize the field. Seeing the fire, Nhi jumped in to save Cao. Seeing Nhi jump into the fire, Pham Lang, out of pity for his wife, jumped in too. All three died in the fire.

God took pity on the three people and saw that they lived a life of kindness and love, so he appointed them as Kitchen Gods, also known as Dinh Phuc Tao Quan. He assigned the new husband to be Tho Cong to look after the kitchen, the old husband to be Tho Dia to look after the house, and the wife to be Tho Ky to look after the market.

Not only determining the luck, misfortune, and blessings of the homeowner, the Kitchen Gods also prevent the invasion of evil spirits into the land, keeping peace for everyone in the house. Every year, on the 23rd of December, the Kitchen Gods go to heaven to report all the good and bad deeds of people during the year so that Heaven can decide on merits and sins, and reward and punish fairly.

With the wish that the Kitchen God will bless their family with good luck, Vietnamese people often solemnly hold a ceremony to send the Kitchen God to heaven.

According to VTC