What day and time should we worship Ong Cong Ong Tao in 2025?

The ceremony to worship the Kitchen Gods is one of the unique spiritual cultural features of the Vietnamese people, taking place on the 23rd of December every year. On this occasion, people often hold a ceremony to send the Kitchen Gods to heaven to report on the events that have happened in the family over the past year.

In 2025, the Kitchen Gods' Day, December 23, falls on Wednesday, January 22 of the Gregorian calendar. Many families choose a suitable date and time to worship the Kitchen Gods to conveniently arrange their work and receive good and peaceful things.

What day and time should we worship Ong Cong Ong Tao in 2025?

According to the book "Learning about Eastern culture in 365 days" by author Thien Nhan, Thanh Hoa Publishing House, in 2025, December 23 of the lunar calendar - Ong Cong Ong Tao Festival - is an auspicious day, families can choose to perform the ceremony at some good hours such as Ty hour (11pm-1am), Dan hour (3am-5am), Mao hour (5am-7am), Ngo hour (11am-1pm).

According to feng shui, the hour of Ngo (11am-1pm) on December 23 is considered the best time to perform the ceremony to see off the Kitchen Gods.

However, because December 23 this year falls on Wednesday, a mid-week workday, many families find it difficult to arrange to worship on the right day. Many families choose to worship before December 23 to ensure they have enough time to prepare the offerings carefully without being pressured.

– On December 19 (Saturday, January 18th of the solar calendar), homeowners can worship the Kitchen Gods at: Dragon (7am-9am), Horse (11am-1pm), Goat (1pm-3pm), Dog (7pm-9pm).

– On December 20 (Sunday, January 19th of the Gregorian calendar), the times to perform the ceremony to worship Ong Cong Ong Tao include: Suu (1am-3am), Mao (5am-7am), Ngo (11am-1pm), Than (3pm-5pm), Dau (5pm-7pm).

– On December 21 (Monday, January 20th), the times to perform the ceremony to worship Ong Cong Ong Tao include: Dan hour (3am-5am), Mao hour (5am-7am), Ty hour (9am-11am), Than hour (3pm-5pm), Tuat hour (7pm-9pm) and Hoi hour (9pm-11pm).

– December 22 (Tuesday, January 21st) is Tam Nuong day, considered a bad day.

Families should not worship Ong Cong Ong Tao too early, making him wait a long time before going to heaven. It should also not be later than noon (11am-1pm) on December 23 because he will not be able to attend the meeting in time.

Full offering tray for the Kitchen Gods. (Photo: Vu Thanh Hoan)

Ritual of worshiping the Kitchen Gods

The ceremony to worship the Kitchen Gods is not only an occasion for family reunion, but also has many spiritual meanings. According to legend, the Kitchen Gods are the ones who record all the good and bad things of each family during the year and report to the Jade Emperor. Therefore, the ceremony is an occasion for everyone to sincerely pray for a new year of peace, happiness and luck.

The ceremony to worship the Kitchen Gods usually includes trays of food and offerings to the gods. The homeowner needs to prepare offerings to worship the Kitchen Gods, including:

• The Kitchen Gods' Hat Set: This is an indispensable item, the hat set of two men and one woman has the meaning of sending the gods off to heaven. The hat set is usually made of brightly colored gilded paper.
• Carp: Carp is considered the vehicle for the Kitchen Gods to ascend to heaven. Depending on the region, it can be live carp to be released or paper carp.
• Votive paper
• Betel, fruit, fresh flowers.
• White wine, tea, rice-salt (each in a small plate).

Besides the main offerings, the food tray also plays an important role in the ceremony. Depending on the conditions of each family, they can choose a salty or vegetarian food tray.

The savory feast will include traditional dishes such as boiled chicken, ham, fried spring rolls, sticky rice, and other rustic dishes. The savory feast represents the family's abundance and respect for the gods.

For families who follow a pure lifestyle, a vegetarian meal can be an alternative. Vegetarian dishes often include fried spring rolls, stir-fried mushrooms, vegetables, etc. A vegetarian meal represents simplicity, elegance, but is no less solemn.

Place the offering tray to worship the Kitchen Gods near the family altar. (Photo: Nhung Ngo)

The process of worshiping Ong Cong Ong Tao is that the offerings must be placed in the kitchen and when worshiping, the stove must be lit to burn brightly, the tray of food must be full so that the whole family can be full and warm all year round. Some people place one tray of offerings in the kitchen and another tray of offerings on the altar. The votive offerings such as hats, shirts, shoes and some paper gold bars will be burned after the ceremony to worship Ong Tao on the 23rd of December.

The person performing the ritual of worshiping the Kitchen Gods must keep his body clean. When performing the ceremony, he must dress neatly, modestly, and discreetly, without wearing shorts, tank tops, short skirts, etc. While praying, he must maintain a joyful attitude to create positive energy.

Some taboos that few people know about the day of worshiping Ong Cong and Ong Tao include avoiding breaking dishes, avoiding arguing, avoiding offering money to the underworld, and avoiding throwing carp from above. In addition, the day of seeing off Ong Tao is also considered a day to clean the house, removing bad luck from the old year.