Sacrificing stoves is a very popular custom in China. In the past, almost every kitchen had a kitchen god. Kitchen God is the kitchen god of ancient folk beliefs. "Huainan Pan Zi Lun Xun" contains that "Emperor Yan made a fire and died as a stove." Kitchen God was originally an old woman in charge of diet, and later he drew an image of a man or a beautiful woman. His authority expanded from managing a family's diet to controlling the fate of the whole family, and recorded the merits and demerits of others at any time and reported to the Jade Emperor at the end of the year. Therefore, the kitchen god is regarded as the patron saint of the family. The folk song "Twenty-three, cantaloupe stick" refers to the annual sacrifice on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month, and it is said that "officials, three people, four boatmen and five", that is, the official government held the sacrifice on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, ordinary people held it on the 24th, and houseboats held it on the 25th. So, what to eat on the Festival of Sacrifice to the Kitchen?

Eat dumplings

On the festival of offering sacrifices to stoves, people pay attention to it, which means "seeing off the windward side of jiaozi". Eat more cakes and buckwheat noodles in mountainous areas. In the southeast of Shanxi, the custom of eating fried corn is popular. A folk proverb says, "Twenty-three, don't eat fried, on New Year's Eve-pour it all at once."

Eat stove candy

There is an old saying: "Twenty-three, cantaloupes are sticky, and the master of the kitchen goes to heaven." Eating stove candy is a kind of maltose, which is very sticky. The candy bar drawn into a long strip is called "Guandong Sugar" and the one drawn into a flat circle is called "honeydew melon". When it is placed outside in winter, because of the cold weather, the honeydew melon is solidified firmly, and there are some tiny bubbles in it, which tastes crisp and sweet and has a special flavor. The real kwantung candy is too hard to break. Be sure to split it with a kitchen knife when eating. The material is very heavy and fine. The taste is slightly sour, there is no honeycomb in the middle, each piece weighs one or two, two or four, and the price is relatively expensive. Sugar, sesame sugar and non-sesame sugar. Sugar is made into melon shape or north melon shape. The center is empty and the skin thickness is less than five points. Although the size is different, the transaction is still calculated by weight. The big honeydew melon weighs one or two Jin, but few people buy it as a cover.

Guandong Sugar is also called Chef King Sugar and Big Sugar. After one year, it will only be sold around the next year. Guandong sugar is a sugar product made of malt and millet, which is used to worship the kitchen god. The Chronicle of Yanjing Years written by the Qing Dynasty records that there are "Guandong Sugar" and "Sugar Cake" in the offerings of the Qing Dynasty. Guandong sugar is sold in rural areas, cities, streets and markets in Northeast China: "Big sugar, big sugar, crispy big sugar." A large piece of milky white sugar, placed on a square plate, is usually three inches long and one inch wide, flat and silky. A large piece of newly-made candy tastes crisp, fragrant and sticky and has a special taste. It is a kind of candy that is very popular among men, women and children in Kanto. It has been handed down from the kitchen god's sacrificial table and is widely loved by the people.