This year, Ong Cong Ong Tao festival falls on Wednesday, January 22, 2025 (solar calendar). However, depending on each family's time conditions, Ong Cong Ong Tao can be worshiped from the 19th day of the 12th lunar month (January 18, 2025) to the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month (January 22, 2025).
Offerings are prepared according to the conditions of each family and the local culture of the region. Although not elaborate, they must meet the criteria of cleanliness and tidiness. Note that the homeowner must use new items and avoid used items and leftovers.
In the book "Vietnamese customs" (Literature Publishing House), author Phan Ke Binh wrote: "Buy two men's hats, one woman's hat to worship and buy a carp to be the horse for the Kitchen Gods to go to heaven."
The basic offering tray includes common dishes such as sticky rice, rice soup, wine, water, votive paper, betel and areca nuts, chicken, pork and fruit. Depending on the cultural features and other unique factors in the story of Ong Tao, each region will have some unique characteristics.
In the North, offerings include votive paper, carp, and the Tao’s hats and shirts. On the tray of offerings, besides sticky rice and sweet soup, dishes such as boiled chicken, bamboo shoot soup, jellied meat, pickled onions, fried spring rolls, etc. are indispensable.
For Southerners, the offering tray includes boiled or roasted chicken, pork leg, mushroom soup, stir-fried vegetables, banh chung, gac sticky rice, pickled onions, etc. The offering tray also includes a plate of peanuts, black sesame candy, and a set of "flying storks and running horses".
Usually, the offering tray of the Central region does not have votive paper clothes and hats for the Kitchen Gods like the Northern region, but only has a paper horse with a full saddle, votive paper and some other offerings.
Dishes displayed on the offering tray include boiled chicken, fried spring rolls, sticky rice, pork, etc. In some regions such as Hue, Hoi An (Quang Nam), the offering tray also includes mackerel or tuna.
Suggested offering tray for the Kitchen Gods:
- 1 plate of rice
- 1 plate of salt
- 500g boiled meat (or chicken)
- 1 bowl of soup
- 1 stir-fry plate
- 1 plate of ham
- 1 plate of sticky rice with gac fruit
- 1 fruit plate
- 1 lotus teapot
- 3 cups of wine
- Areca nut, betel leaf
- 1 vase
- 1 set of paper money, votive paper, mandarin's hat...
- 3-5 live carp (or paper carp)
After setting up the ceremony, burning incense and praying, wait for the incense to burn out, light another round of incense and burn the votive paper. After that, the family takes the carp to a pond, lake, river, stream... to release so that the fish can carry the Kitchen God to Heaven.
