The custom of off-year: offering sacrifices to stoves
There have always been different opinions about the dates when the ancients offered sacrifices to stoves, such as the first month, April, May, August and December. In China's feudal society, various religions coexist, and the number of gods is as high as thousands, which is respected by folk customs. Perhaps for the sake of simplification and unification, easy to remember and easy to operate, the saying that the kitchen god goes to heaven once a month has evolved into going to heaven once a year.
And fix the time on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. On this day, it has become a traditional festival of offering sacrifices to stoves. In Shanxi Province, Yushe, Wenshui, Licheng, Yangcheng and many other places are places where the stove is sacrificed on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month.
The god of the kitchen stove is attached to the wall next to the cooker and facing the wind box. Most of the couplets on both sides are "Heaven speaks good things, and the lower bound is safe", and some of the couplets are written as "Return to the Palace for good luck".
In the middle is the idol of the kitchen husband and wife, and two horses are often painted next to the idol as mounts. When offering sacrifices to the stove, you should display offerings, the most prominent of which is candied melons. It is used in northern Shanxi, and it is the primary product of sesame candy, which is especially sticky. Now it is collectively called sesame candy. There is a folk proverb "Twenty-three, eat a plate".