The Kitchen God is the most important of the many Chinese domestic gods that protect the family and health.

The Kitchen God Festival is celebrated by Chinese who practice Taoism, Vietnamese and Koreans. It is believed that on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month, the Kitchen God returns to heaven to report the activities of the household over the past year to the Jade Emperor, who will reward or punish the family based on the Kitchen God’s report.

Offerings of food and incense are made to the Kitchen God on this day to ‘sweeten’ him so that he will give a good report of the family. The Kitchen God Festival is also known as the Little New Year or ‘Xiaonian’ in Chinese.