Tet rites begin seven days before New Year’s Day. This is when the Tao Quan – the three Spirits of the Hearth, found in the kitchen of every home – ascend to the heavens to report on the past year’s events to the Jade Emperor. Often these kitchen gods are described as a single person and may be called Ong Tao, Ong Lo or Ong Vua Bep. The Tao Quan ride fish on their journey to heaven so on this day people all over Vietnam release live carp into rivers and lakes. Altars, laden with offerings of food, fresh water, flowers, betel and more live carp for celestial transport, are assembled in preparation for the gods’ departure, all in the hope of receiving a favorable report and ensuring good luck for the family in the coming year.

 

A few days before Vietnamese New Year, the woman received a beggar at the front door while the hunter was searching for a game. She offered the beggar a meal and soon realized that he was her former husband. Panicked by the sound of her current husband returning, she hid the beggar under the pile of hay. The hungry hunter promptly set the hay alight and placed his current caught game on it to roast, unaware that there was someone there. Fearing that the hunter might kill the woman if he cried out, the beggar remained silent. The poor woman was torn with grief, realizing that her former husband was dying for her sake. With little hesitation, she threw herself onto the fire to die with him. The refused hunter thought that he must have driven her to such desperation, so he too jumped into the fire, unable to contemplate life without her.

All three perished an act of devotion which so deeply touched the Jade Emperor that he made them gods. In their new role, they were to look out for the wellbeing of the Vietnamese people from the vantage point of the hearth