Cultural Events Calendar
December
Tet Tao Quan
There is a custom in Vietnam of seeing off Ong Conga (the land genie) and Ong Tao (the kitchen god) on the 23rd day of lunar December. Both go to heaven to brief Ngoc Hoang (the Jade Emperor) on the life of the owner of the house where they stay, and pray for luck, prosperity and happiness. On New Year\'s Eve, both gods come back to earth and continue their routine duty of looking after the kitchen of the house. The custom of worshipping Ong Conga and Ong Tao originates from an old tale about a couple, so poor that they had to go far away to earn their living. ON the way, they lost one another. After an unsuccessful hunt for her husband, the wife married another man. One day, her first husband called at her house to beg for food. The old couple recognized each other at once. Feeling sad and embarrassed by the situation, the wife jumped into the fire and burned to death. The old husband, sorry for his wife, also jumped into the fire, and was followed by the new husband. Hearing about their faithful love, the Jade Emperor permitted the three to live together as the kitchen god to enjoy the blessings. On the Ong Cong and Ong Tao festival day, people usually prepare steamed sticky rice with sugar porridge, truncated cone-shaped cookies made of sticky rice, incense sticks and flowers. They also prepare a basin of water in which they put one big live carp or three small ones. After the ceremony, the carp are released into the pond or the river. This custom has two meanings. First, as popular thinking goes, the carp can swim well and will pass Vu Moon (heaven\'s gate) to become a dragon. Thus, Ong Cong and Ong Tao ride a carp, i.e. a dragon, to heaven. Second, the custom of releasing the carps refers to a custom of releasing animals, such as birds into the air and the beasts into the forest, which is considered a kindhearted deed that promises good luck.
There is a custom in Vietnam of seeing off Ong Conga (the land genie) and Ong Tao (the kitchen god) on the 23rd day of lunar December. Both go to heaven to brief Ngoc Hoang (the Jade Emperor) on the life of the owner of the house where they stay, and pray for luck, prosperity and happiness. On New Year\'s Eve, both gods come back to earth and continue their routine duty of looking after the kitchen of the house. The custom of worshipping Ong Conga and Ong Tao originates from an old tale about a couple, so poor that they had to go far away to earn their living. ON the way, they lost one another. After an unsuccessful hunt for her husband, the wife married another man. One day, her first husband called at her house to beg for food. The old couple recognized each other at once. Feeling sad and embarrassed by the situation, the wife jumped into the fire and burned to death. The old husband, sorry for his wife, also jumped into the fire, and was followed by the new husband. Hearing about their faithful love, the Jade Emperor permitted the three to live together as the kitchen god to enjoy the blessings. On the Ong Cong and Ong Tao festival day, people usually prepare steamed sticky rice with sugar porridge, truncated cone-shaped cookies made of sticky rice, incense sticks and flowers. They also prepare a basin of water in which they put one big live carp or three small ones. After the ceremony, the carp are released into the pond or the river. This custom has two meanings. First, as popular thinking goes, the carp can swim well and will pass Vu Moon (heaven\'s gate) to become a dragon. Thus, Ong Cong and Ong Tao ride a carp, i.e. a dragon, to heaven. Second, the custom of releasing the carps refers to a custom of releasing animals, such as birds into the air and the beasts into the forest, which is considered a kindhearted deed that promises good luck.
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