On January 19th, Cho Thiec in District 11, the largest place for offering items in Ho Chi Minh City, was bustling with customers buying goods before sending off the Kitchen God on the 23rd of the last month of the lunar year. The staff at stall 369 were busy serving customers.
A full set of votive paper offerings for the Kitchen God costs around VND 12,000-15,000. Adding candies and cakes will increase the price by about VND 5,000-6,000.
Many stalls at Cho Thiec hang votive paper offerings high up, making it easier for customers to see and choose from a distance.
In addition to paper offerings, products such as incense and lamps are also in high demand. Customers can either buy individual items or order a full set according to their requirements, with prices ranging from VND 100,000 to VND 1 million per set.
Most customers only buy a modest set of offerings for the Kitchen God, such as paper and paper money, costing just a few dozen thousand VND per set. They consciously limit the amount of votive paper burned to save money.
The votive paper offerings are intricately crafted to resemble real items.
Paper clothes are also in high demand.
Many merchants shared that the number of customers coming to the market has decreased compared to a few years ago as many people have returned to their hometowns. The purchasing volume has also decreased. “In the past, I sold goods day and night, and even with the help of my family, we still couldn’t keep up,” said the owner of stall 369 at Cho Thiec.
Meanwhile, offerings for the Kitchen God, such as betel and areca nuts, and towers of cakes, are also beautifully decorated and displayed, ready for customers to purchase.
In recent years, sugar carps have been a popular choice for customers as they are inexpensive and can be displayed all year round. Sugar carps are priced at VND 15,000 per fish. Additionally, various types of cakes and sugar items, such as sugar towers and sugar ingots, are also widely sold during this occasion.
Customers choose to buy sugar carps instead of real carps to send off the Kitchen God.
Votive paper offerings and paper goods are prepared for wholesale to smaller stalls in traditional markets.
It is expected that on the day of sending off the Kitchen God (23rd of the last month of the lunar year), the market will be even more crowded with shoppers.
The streets of Tran Quy and Tan Phuoc in the Cho Thiec area were packed with customers.
