The Story#
A long, long time ago, every family’s kitchen had a god called the Kitchen God.
The Kitchen God’s job was to watch whether the family did good or bad things.
He stayed by the stove every day, watching the family eat, talk, and do things.
On the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, the Kitchen God would go up to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor about the family.
If the family had done many good things, the Jade Emperor would reward them; If they had done bad things, they would be punished.
There was a family that didn’t do many good things normally. They were afraid the Kitchen God would say bad things about them, so they thought of a plan.
On the 23rd of the 12th lunar month, they made many sweet and sticky candy treats for the Kitchen God to eat.
“Kitchen God, please have some candy!” they said.
The Kitchen God ate the candy, and his mouth got stuck. He couldn’t say bad things even if he wanted to.
When he got to heaven, the Kitchen God could only say: “Mmm… mmm…”
The Jade Emperor asked: “How is this family?”
Because he ate the candy, the Kitchen God could only say good things: “Good… good…”
From then on, every year on the 23rd of the 12th lunar month, people offer candy to the Kitchen God, hoping he will “say good things in heaven and bring peace on earth.”
Little friends, this is the custom of eating candy on “Little New Year”!
What the Story Teaches Us#
The Kitchen God’s story teaches us to be kind and honest people, do more good things, and not be afraid of what others say. Candy is sweet, but we should be honest and not cover up mistakes with flattery.