Party Chief and President Nguyen Phu Trong, his spouse, and Overseas Vietnamese perform a ritual of releasing carps into Hoan Kiem Lake. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Party General Secretary and State PresidentNguyen Phu Trong, his spouse, and Overseas Vietnamese coming home for the 2019 HomelandSpring programme, performed a ritual of releasing carps into Hoan Kiem Lake (theLake of the Returned Sword) to bid farewell to the Kitchen Gods on January 26.
For Vietnamese, Tet(Lunar New Year festival) has actually begun with the "Ong Cong - OngTao" (Land Genie and Kitchen Gods) ceremony on the 23rd of the last monthof the lunar year, which falls on January 28 this year.
On this day, every family is staging a farewell ceremony for the Land Genie andthe Kitchen Gods on their yearly visit of Heaven.
The Kitchen Gods, the guardian spirit of thekitchen, are believed to comprise two male gods and one female, who bless thehousehold and keep up the kitchen fire, making every member of the family happyand well-off.
As the legend goes, the Land Genie and the KitchenGods will ride carps to Heaven on the day to deliver an annual report on thehousehold's activities to the God of Heaven.
As the gods make their journey on the back of fish, it is traditional torelease live carps into lakes or rivers, which is considered a kindhearted deedto pray for good luck.
After the ritual, the Party and State leadertalked with Overseas Vietnamese, asking them to stay united to weatherdifficulties, integrate into their host countries, and preserve the nationalidentity. He sent the best wishes to all Overseas Vietnamese and their familieson the occasion of the Lunar New Year festival.
As scheduled, the leader will extend Tet greetings toOverseas Vietnamese and beat the drum to kick-start the Homeland Spring Festival and anart programme at the National Convention Hall later on the day .
More than 4.5 million Vietnamese are living in over 100 countries andterritories and they always have taken practical activities towards thehomeland.-VNA
