Hanoi streets "on fire" on December 23
Friday, February 2, 2024 18:06 PM (GMT+7)
According to custom, on the 23rd of December every year, after preparing a tray of offerings to send the Kitchen Gods to heaven, people burn votive paper and release carp into rivers and lakes.
Video : Hanoians burn votive paper in the middle of the street to send the Kitchen Gods to heaven.
According to Dan Viet reporters, on many streets in Hanoi on December 23, after performing the ceremony to worship Ong Cong and Ong Tao, people bring votive paper to their front doors to burn.
Walking through the streets and alleys of Hanoi, everywhere you see people burning votive paper, smoke drifting all over the streets.
All the streets of Hanoi are "on fire" on the day of sending the Kitchen Gods to heaven.
Most people are aware of fire prevention when burning votive paper money, everything is put away in a corner and burned in a pot.
However, there were places where smoke and dust from burning gold coins flew everywhere, obscuring the entire street corner.
Mr. Le Hoang said: "Today, my family cleaned the altar, burned old trays and stacks of money, and prepared offerings on the 23rd of December. Because the house is small, I burned the votive paper outside the door."
Before burning, people carefully remove the outer layer of nylon wrapping the votive paper.
Burning votive paper on sidewalks and roads makes many people worry about the risk of explosions and fires, especially when votive paper is burned near vehicles and objects that are easily flammable.
A resident who burns votive paper said that every year he burns votive paper on the day the Kitchen Gods return to heaven to pray for good luck and fortune in the new year.
Worshiping the Kitchen Gods is a long-standing belief of the Vietnamese people. Many foreign tourists are quite curious about this custom.
According to belief, every year, on the 23rd of December, the Kitchen God rides a carp to heaven to report everything that happens in the family to the Jade Emperor.
On New Year's Eve, the Kitchen Gods return to earth to continue their work of watching over the fire. On the day the Kitchen Gods return to heaven, Vietnamese people often burn votive paper and release carp with the concept of compassion. At the same time, people also release carp on this day, the fish will turn into a dragon (fish turns into a dragon) and pass the Dragon Gate as a vehicle for the Kitchen Gods to ride to heaven.
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