Customs from the 23rd to the 29th of the twelfth lunar month in Xuchang

In the past, every household in Xuchang would light incense candles when "giving away stoves". The house was filled with smoke and various offerings were dazzling, and the atmosphere of celebrating the New Year suddenly came.

Sacrificing stoves in the "Little Year" is a common custom across the country. In the past, people would worship the Stove Lord and the Stove Lord on this day on the wall near the pot in the kitchen (kitchen). A pair of couplets should be affixed to both sides of the statue of the Buddhist niche. The upper couplet reads "Heaven speaks good things", the lower couplet reads "The lower world ensures peace" or "Returns to the palace to bring good luck", and the horizontal scroll reads "Head of the family". The ancients said: "Food is the most important thing for the people." It is completely understandable that people respectfully regard the Kitchen God as the head of the family.

In the old days of Xuchang, every early twelfth lunar month, you could "invite" (can't say "buy") the Stove Lord in oil and salt shops and department store stalls in the streets and alleys. Elderly people in Hubei and Guangdong are particularly cautious, and most of the statues they want woodblock watermarks come from Yangliuqing, Tianjin. The amiable, solemn and quiet Kitchen God and Kitchen God's grandmother sit upright in their attire, giving people a solemn feeling.

Every year, people have to "invite" a new Stove King statue to replace the old Stove King statue that has been burned for a year. This seems to be a warning to people that New Year's Eve is coming soon.

The offerings to the Stove Lord and Stove Lord’s grandma do not need to use chicken, duck, fish, dried or fresh fruits, nor do they need to use cattle, sheep, or pigs. They only need some sticky sesame seeds. Sugar will do. A more sophisticated family will offer a bowl of rice with lotus seeds and eight-treasure rice steamed with glutinous rice, and the Kitchen God and his grandmother will be even more satisfied.

As the saying goes: "On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the Stove Lord goes to heaven." People call this day the "Stove Sacrifice Day." In Xuchang, before dinner on this day, every parent will bake sugar melons in front of the stove door, and then apply them on the lips of the Stove Lord and the Stove Lord’s grandma. Even if the Stove Lord and the Stove Lord’s grandma are not greedy, people will still eat them. Put the roasted candy near their mouths.