My Offer
Everything comes to a halt in our household the week before TET, which marks the first day of the new year according to the Lunar calendar. Celebrating Tet for the Vietnamese is not merely just welcoming in the new year. It is a host of centuries-old traditions and rituals that are followed to a tee and kept diligently. It is a time of calmness and mutual love and respect, a time of reflection and rest...and of course, a time of pretty good eating!
Weeks before Tet my mother would start preparing the house; it has to be sparkling and shining in getting ready for the most celebrated and most important holiday of the year. Homes are cleaned to get rid of the bad spirits that have hung over it during the past year...all bad vibes and jujus out the window; my sister Monica always discard her beddings, my mother buys new pots and pans, and me? I try to keep my kitchen clear of clutter and as clean as possible!Mind you, this is not just out of my love of being in the kitchen, but for the sake of the kitchen God who resides there. It is believed that he looms over the stove because the kitchen is where everything takes place in the house- where all souls meet, where deeds are done.
When we were younger, the activities leading to Tet were always exciting as we knew everyone had to be in good moods...especially my father. There are to be no arguments between adults, no bickering among children, and no raising of voices all around. This sets the parameters for what will be our new year to come. And it is in this spirit of renewal, that the days were very peaceful in our house.
About a week before Tet, the kitchen God, or ONG TAO, departs people's homes and heads to heaven to report back to the Jade Emperor all the wrong doings of those on earth. In order for people to secure his good words, sweets and many sugary treats are offered at the altar to this almighty deity. Along with oranges, tangerines and kumquats which bright orange colors signify joy and happiness... candy, dried fruits and honey are offered to sweeten the tongue of the kitchen God so that he will have nothing bitter or bad to say to the emperor. Some people go as far as smearing honey on images of Ong Tao to ensure this. Sometimes, his image is burned in order to help him get to heaven quicker and spirit money is used to sway him. Spirit money are special types of paper bills which are burned as offerings to the departed. Once all of these things are done, people can begin to relax because when new year's eve comes around, a new kitchen God will be posted to the house to reign over it for the next twelve months.
My mother would set out jellied guanabana candies, sweet sesame and peanut crunches and honeyed tamarind pods on a large platter for Ong Tao. Incense are lit, tea is made with plenty of cups for our departed ancestors as well as Ong Tao, and the door to our apartment kept ajar so that the spirits may enter and leave with ease. When we were young, my sisters and brother and me were a little freaked out by this..not to mention the hosts of spirits coming and going to our apartment, but also the real live deadbeats that may lurk around as well. We never felt rested until our mother or father shut the door finally at around midnight on the 23rd night of the 12th month. But all was well year after year and we kids got to enjoy the treats the following days.
So as traditions dictate, there is a large offering in my home tonight in Westport, Connecticut on this 23rd day of the 12th month of the year of the Rat. On a special turquoise-blue one-of-a-kind piece of Japanese ceramic dish, there is chocolate (milk and dark) coconut clusters, bananas and glutinous rice cakes for my very own Ong Tao; it is my first offering to him. My sons were at baseball practice this evening when I started the preparations. Upon their arrival home, burning candles surrounding the glorious plate of treats ushered them back to my childhood. As I tried to explain Ong Tao to them and observed their bewildered faces, I am soothed by the knowledge that I am passing down something meaningful and sacred to my children. Hopefully, they will then in future years to come, instinctively learn to set a plate of sweets for their very own kitchen God.
Weeks before Tet my mother would start preparing the house; it has to be sparkling and shining in getting ready for the most celebrated and most important holiday of the year. Homes are cleaned to get rid of the bad spirits that have hung over it during the past year...all bad vibes and jujus out the window; my sister Monica always discard her beddings, my mother buys new pots and pans, and me? I try to keep my kitchen clear of clutter and as clean as possible!Mind you, this is not just out of my love of being in the kitchen, but for the sake of the kitchen God who resides there. It is believed that he looms over the stove because the kitchen is where everything takes place in the house- where all souls meet, where deeds are done.
When we were younger, the activities leading to Tet were always exciting as we knew everyone had to be in good moods...especially my father. There are to be no arguments between adults, no bickering among children, and no raising of voices all around. This sets the parameters for what will be our new year to come. And it is in this spirit of renewal, that the days were very peaceful in our house.
About a week before Tet, the kitchen God, or ONG TAO, departs people's homes and heads to heaven to report back to the Jade Emperor all the wrong doings of those on earth. In order for people to secure his good words, sweets and many sugary treats are offered at the altar to this almighty deity. Along with oranges, tangerines and kumquats which bright orange colors signify joy and happiness... candy, dried fruits and honey are offered to sweeten the tongue of the kitchen God so that he will have nothing bitter or bad to say to the emperor. Some people go as far as smearing honey on images of Ong Tao to ensure this. Sometimes, his image is burned in order to help him get to heaven quicker and spirit money is used to sway him. Spirit money are special types of paper bills which are burned as offerings to the departed. Once all of these things are done, people can begin to relax because when new year's eve comes around, a new kitchen God will be posted to the house to reign over it for the next twelve months.
My mother would set out jellied guanabana candies, sweet sesame and peanut crunches and honeyed tamarind pods on a large platter for Ong Tao. Incense are lit, tea is made with plenty of cups for our departed ancestors as well as Ong Tao, and the door to our apartment kept ajar so that the spirits may enter and leave with ease. When we were young, my sisters and brother and me were a little freaked out by this..not to mention the hosts of spirits coming and going to our apartment, but also the real live deadbeats that may lurk around as well. We never felt rested until our mother or father shut the door finally at around midnight on the 23rd night of the 12th month. But all was well year after year and we kids got to enjoy the treats the following days.
So as traditions dictate, there is a large offering in my home tonight in Westport, Connecticut on this 23rd day of the 12th month of the year of the Rat. On a special turquoise-blue one-of-a-kind piece of Japanese ceramic dish, there is chocolate (milk and dark) coconut clusters, bananas and glutinous rice cakes for my very own Ong Tao; it is my first offering to him. My sons were at baseball practice this evening when I started the preparations. Upon their arrival home, burning candles surrounding the glorious plate of treats ushered them back to my childhood. As I tried to explain Ong Tao to them and observed their bewildered faces, I am soothed by the knowledge that I am passing down something meaningful and sacred to my children. Hopefully, they will then in future years to come, instinctively learn to set a plate of sweets for their very own kitchen God.
posted by cream cheese dreams at 9:16 PM
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