According to the book Traditional Vietnamese Prayers - Culture and Information Publishing House, Tho Cong is the god whose duty is to record all good and bad things that happen in each family. The most important worshiping ceremony for Tho Cong is the Kitchen God Festival on the 23rd of December (also known as Ong Cong Festival).
On this day, after the offering, Tho Cong goes to the Heavenly God to report what he has seen and heard in the mortal world. Families will burn the gold, hats, shirts, and shoes of the previous year, pour out the ashes, and release a carp for him to ride to Heaven. According to folk belief, after being released, the carp will turn into a dragon for Ong Tao to ride.
Depending on different conditions and regions, families choose different offerings to worship Ong Cong Ong Tao, which can be vegetarian or non-vegetarian.
Below are suggestions for offerings to the Kitchen Gods on December 23:
- 1 plate of rice - 1 plate of salt - 3 cups of wine - Boiled pork - Boiled or roasted chicken - Plate of stir-fried vegetables - Pickled onions - Gac sticky rice - Pig's feet - Soup with mushrooms or bamboo shoots - Grilled carp (Southerners often offer grilled snakehead fish) - Fresh fruit, tea, wine, areca and betel...
- 1 stack of paper money, votive paper - 1 vase of chrysanthemums, 1 small vase of peach blossoms
If you offer vegetarian offerings, you can replace salty dishes with vegetarian dishes such as vegetarian chicken, vegetarian ham, vegetarian stir-fried gizzards, vegetarian fried fish, vegetarian vegetable soup...
In addition, according to ancient customs, there are offerings to the Kitchen Gods including:
- The Kitchen God hats include: Two men's hats and one woman's hat. The Kitchen God hat has two dragonfly wings, while the Kitchen God hat does not have dragonfly wings. You can only offer one set of Kitchen God hats (with dragonfly wings) as a symbol.
- Carp: Symbolizes the means of transportation for the Kitchen Gods to Heaven. You can use real carp or paper carp. If you use a live carp, after the offering, you will take it to a pond, lake, river or stream to release it.
- Gold coins, paper clothes, paper shoes...
What is the best time to worship the Kitchen Gods?
People usually worship Ong Cong Ong Tao from around December 20th to before 12 noon on December 23rd. Because people believe that after 12 noon on December 23rd is when Ong Tao has gone to Heaven.
In some southern provinces, people worship Ong Cong Ong Tao at night, around 8-11pm on the 23rd of December. This is considered the time when the kitchen work is finished and no more cooking is done to avoid disturbing the Tao.
