VietNamNet Bridge – On Monday morning, many people in Hanoi went to lakes, ponds and the Red River to throw carp on the Day of the Kitchen Gods. People also threw ash, plastic bags and garbage into the lakes.

The two ambassadors joined in the Tet (Lunar New Year) custom of releasing carp on the occasion of the Kitchen Gods Day (23rd Lunar December).

 For most Vietnamese, Tet (Lunar New Year festival) has actually begun with the “Ong Cong - Ong Tao” (Land Genie and Kitchen Gods) ceremony on the 23rd of the last month of the lunar year, which falls on February 1 this year.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Today, according to the lunar calendar, the Vietnamese people believe the Kitchen God (Ong Tao) will begin his journey to the Heavenly Palace.

On every Kitchen God’s Day, the family of Mrs. Phuc on Yet Kieu Street, Hanoi, groups up to prepare a vegetarian feast and burn incense to see the Kitchen God off. Gold carp must be released before 12pm.

For the first time Hanoi held traditional rituals to see the Kitchen God off. Besides the icons of earthen tripods and offerings, a paper-made gold carp of almost 4 meters long was processed from Bat Trang village to Hanoi’s center.

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