Worshipping Kitchen Gods - cultural feature in Vietnamese beliefs

Every December 23rd is the day to send the Kitchen Gods off to heaven.

Every year, on the 23rd of December, all Vietnamese people respectfully prepare offerings of rice, carp, incense and flowers to send off Kitchen Gods. No one knows exactly when this beautiful cultural practice began, but it is known that it has existed for a long time, entering the subconscious of people through many generations. According to folk beliefs, the day of worshiping Kitchen Gods is the day they ascend to heaven to report on the cooking, business and behavior of the family during that year.

Red carps are indispensable in the year-end worship of Kitchen Gods.

The worshipping ceremony is usually held before 12 P.M on December 23 (can be held from 9 P.M. to noon on December 23).

Offering tray for the Kitchen Gods.

Carp-shaped sticky rice.

This is also the occasion for everyone to return home to reunite after a year of hard work. According to the tradition passed down from the ancestors, the tray of food to send the Kitchen Gods off to heaven is usually traditional dishes to worship the them, thereby, sending wishes for a new year of peace and health for the whole family.

There are also incense, flowers, cakes, fruits, areca nuts, betel; along with a carefully prepared, complete tray of food with sticky rice, chicken, steamed pork sausage, spring rolls, bamboo shoot soup, vermicelli, etc.

Fruits displayed on the tray include: dragon fruit, oranges, apples, grapefruit, bananas, betel and areca nuts...

Releasing carp on the day of worshipping Kitchen Gods is not only a spiritual ritual but also guides people towards good things and good values ​​in life.

Releasing carp.

A year begins with the Lunar New Year and ends with the Kitchen Gods on the 23rd of December. The Kitchen God worshipping ceremony is a beautiful cultural feature, imbued with many spiritual aspects. Sending Kitchen Gods off to heaven, saying goodbye to all the hardships and worries of the old year makes everyone’s mind more peaceful and lighter, ready to enter a new year of peace and happiness.