Rarely known secret about Ong Cong Ong Tao, December 23rd is a folk belief

Every year, after the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, families start preparing for the ceremony to worship the Kitchen Gods a week later. In addition to buying votive paper and clothes for the Kitchen Gods, housewives also plan the menu for the feast, ask where to buy carp...

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.

Regarding the story of the Kitchen God, there are many legends passed down by the people, of which the most popular is the story often told under the title of the story of the Kitchen God or the story of the Kitchen God with many different versions.

Once upon a time, there was a poor couple. After a year of crop failure, the husband had to go far away to work and did not return for many years. The wife mourned her husband, then remarried the man who had taken care of her.

One day, while the new husband was away, the ex-husband suddenly returned. At this time, the wife could only hug her ex-husband and cry, then bring him rice and wine to eat. Afraid of gossip, the wife told her ex-husband to hide in the haystack. The new husband returned home, went to the kitchen to get some ash to fertilize the field but there was none, so he burned the haystack, accidentally killin.g his ex-husband.

Seeing her ex-husband unjustly lost in a pile of straw, the wife felt pity and jumped into the fire to di.e with him. The new husband saw this and felt sorry for his wife so he also jumped into the fire to di.e with her, even though he did not understand the whole story.

Seeing that the three people lived a life full of love, God appointed them as Kitchen Gods (Tao Quan) so that they could be together forever and the fire would always burn their love. In that trio, the new husband, Tho Cong, looked after the kitchen, the old husband, Tho Dia, looked after the house, and the wife, Tho Ky, looked after the market.

Not only determining the luck, misfortune, and blessings of the homeowner, the Kitchen Gods also prevent the invasion of demons into the residential 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 rewar.d 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 Gods to heaven.

The Kitchen God is the god who decides the luck, misfortune, and blessings of the entire household, and also prevents the invasion of demons and keeps the family peaceful. Therefore, the custom of worshiping the Kitchen God has the meaning of praying for prosperity and abundance, followed by the meaning of worshiping the Kitchen God who is in charge of the kitchen. The Kitchen God returns to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor about the business and behavior of each family in the lower world.

Carp is the vehicle that the Kitchen God rides to heaven. On this day, after the ceremony, families worship carp and then release it into the river or pond. Releasing carp implies "the carp jumps over the dragon gate" or "the carp turns into a dragon". Carp symbolizes sublimation, the spirit of overcoming difficulties, perseverance and endurance to achieve success.

In the custom of worshiping the Kitchen Gods on the day of the Kitchen Gods, the offerings include: three Kitchen Gods hats (two for men and one for women). The hat for the Kitchen Gods has two dragonfly wings; the hat for the Kitchen Gods has no dragonfly wings. Incense, candles, a vase of fresh flowers, and a plate of fresh fruit.

Depending on each family's circumstances, in addition to the main offerings mentioned above, people either prepare a savory feast (with sticky rice, chicken, boiled pig's feet, mushroom dishes, bamboo shoots...) or a vegetarian feast (with betel and areca nuts, flowers, fruits, gold and silver paper...) to send off the Kitchen Gods.

The process of worshiping the Kitchen Gods: The offerings must be placed in the kitchen and when worshiping, the stove must be lit until it is blazing, the tray of offerings must be full, the whole family will be full and warm all year round. Some people place one offering tray in the kitchen and another on the altar. The votive offerings such as hats, shirts, shoes and some paper gold bars will be burned after the Kitchen God worshiping ceremony on the 23rd of December.

Cultural researcher Associate Professor Dr. Tran Lam Bien said that the offering tray for the Kitchen Gods must be placed in a separate place. Families can perform the Kitchen God worship ceremony inside the house, in the kitchen, or on the sidewalk, depending on the customs of each region.

According to feng shui expert Pham Cuong, in the ceremony to worship Ong Cong Ong Tao, if your house has an altar for Tao Quan (usually located near the kitchen), then burn incense at this altar. If there is no separate altar for Tao Quan, then you must burn incense at the altar for gods or ancestors and not worship in the kitchen because from ancient times until now, the altar has always been considered an antenna for communication between the two worlds of yin and yang, between mortals and gods.

Offerings to the Kitchen Gods include: Two dragonfly-winged hats for the male Kitchen Gods, and one hat without dragonfly wings for the female Kitchen Gods. Offerings vary from region to region. In the North, people often offer a live carp in a basin of water with the implication that "the fish will turn into a dragon" - the fish will transform into a dragon to take the Kitchen Gods to heaven. In the Central region, people offer a paper horse with a full saddle and bridle. In the South, it is simpler, offering only a paper hat, shirt, and shoes.

In addition to these main offerings, families often make a savory or vegetarian offering to send off the Kitchen Gods. The savory offering includes sticky rice, chicken, mushroom dishes, bamboo shoots... The vegetarian offering includes betel and areca nuts, flowers, fruits, gold and silver paper...

According to ancient customs, especially for families with children, people also offer the Kitchen God a boiled chicken. This boiled chicken must be a rooster that has just learned to crow (i.e. a young chicken) to imply that the Kitchen God asks the Jade Emperor to let the chil.d grow up to have as much determination and vitality as a rooster.

After setting up the ceremony, burning incense and praying, wait for the incense to burn out, light another round of incense, give thanks, burn votive paper and release carp into ponds, lakes, rivers, streams... to "carry" the Kitchen Gods to Heaven.

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