Chinese Kitchen God Holiday: Xiao Nian

Following any proper holiday, traditions have been built upon the belief system of ancient mythology and religion. The Chinese New Year is no exception to the usage of Chinese folk religion and the Chinese Mythological belief system. One week before the Chinese New Year, a holiday called "Xiao Nian" is celebrated on the 23^rd day of the Chinese calendar's 12^th month.

For over ten years I have been studying Asia and throughout this research one of my favorite mythological gods is the Kitchen God whom is celebrated on Xiao Nian. According to ancient mythology, the Kitchen God, named Tsao Chun was a mortal man given the human name Zhang Dan. He was married to a virtuous woman, which he took advantage of during their marriage.

According to legend, during the 2nd century BC, married Zhang Dan fell in love with a young girl and decided to divorce his current wife for her. From the date of divorce, he was beset against many tragedies that left him a blind beggar. Chinese people believe it was because of his betrayal, he was punished with this series of bad luck.

Then, one day as he was set out to beg for money and food, he came across his ex-wife's new house. Since he had lost his sense of sight, he did not recognize the women to whom he was begging from which was in fact the very lady he had deserted years ago. His ex-wife felt sadden by the current lifestyle that Zhang Dan was reduced, so she invited him into her house for a hearty meal. Upon eating this meal fit for a king, Zhang Dan recounted his wretched past and his blameworthy feeling towards his actions that occurred to his ex-wife. His story was so heartfelt that the legend states that Zhang Dan was endowed with his sight once again.

He subsequently apologized to his ex-wife once seeing in fact the very lady he had abandoned years ago was the same one standing in front of him. It is believed that telling his shortcomings in an apologetic form in front of her created a drastic feeling of shame to which he threw himself into a lit kitchen fireplace (for cooking). The softhearted ex-wife tried to stop the fire and retrieve him. Unfortunately, she was reduced to seeing his ashes fly out of the kitchen fireplace chimney to the heavens.

It is next believed that the treasured Jade Emperor (Yu Huang) decided to reward the man for admitting to his betrayal by making him the New Year's Kitchen god under the name Tsao Chun. It is his job to watch over everyone's behavior throughout the year and report to him just before the New Year begins. For this reason, the Chinese people place a photo of Tsao Chun and his kind wife over the hearth of a kitchen fireplace or someplace in the kitchen.

Throughout the year, Tsao Chun watches over the family and keeps a record of everything that happens. Then, one week before the Chinese New Year (also known as the Spring Festival), the Kitchen god returns to earth to double check everything that he has seen from the heavens. On this date it is customary to place a sticky bun or cake out for Tsao Chun to eat, it is also a sort of bribe. A New Year's sticky bun is usually made from some sort of sticky substance (usually glutinous rice flour) that causes the Kitchen God to not be able to open his mouth when reporting to the Jade Emperor of the shortcomings from the last year.

If a family were to be given a bad report, the Jade Emperor will bestow bad luck on the family until the next reporting a year later. Folklore states, "men do not worship the Moon while women do not offer sacrifices to the Kitchen god." Hence, just before the Kitchen god comes down for a final inspection a "Spring Cleaning Day" is done in the household by the housewives and all accumulated debts are paid in full. After which, the men of the family will clean the statue and photo of the Kitchen God and his wife. The men will also sometimes place fireworks, paper sedan-chairs and paper horses alongside the sticky bun cakes.

On the day of the Kitchen god's arrival on earth (January 31, 2008), the family will burn the photo of the Kitchen God, paper sedan-chairs and paper horses with the fireworks or in the kitchen fireplace. The sedan-chair and paper horses help Tsao Chun to return safely to heaven with the reports. Burning the photo will speed up the process of return. Then, following tradition, a new photo is placed where the burnt one had been put in the household a few days after the New Year.

According to Chinese mythology, the Kitchen god is an important part of the Chinese New Year's celebration and the culture of the country. It is one of my favorite stories to tell my kids about China during this time of year and I hope that others will take advantage of this grand holiday to teach about China also.