According to the open encyclopedia Wikipedia, it is written: "God of Wealth is a god in the beliefs of Vietnam and some Eastern countries. According to legend, God of Wealth is Trieu Cong Minh, a man of the Qin Dynasty. He left the world to become a monk at Chung Nam Mountain. Later, he attained enlightenment and was appointed as Chinh Nhat Huyen Dan Nguyen Soai, in charge of eliminating epidemics, curing diseases and exorcising evil spirits.
Furthermore, anyone who is wronged and comes to him for help will receive help. Merchants worship him to be prosperous and lucky. People often draw him as a man with a black face, thick beard, holding a whip, riding a black tiger. People also call him Tai Bach Tinh Quan or Trieu Cong Nguyen Soai. People draw him on a metal plate on the altar to worship.
The God of Wealth Day is an Eastern belief that is passed down on the 10th day of the first lunar month every year. In the year of the Dragon 2024, the God of Wealth Day falls on Monday, February 19th of the Gregorian calendar. On this day, many families, business households, shop owners, and enterprises focus on preparing a full offering ceremony so that the God of Wealth can knock on their door, bringing fortune, prosperity, and luck.
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Origin of "God of Wealth"
According to researcher Huynh Ngoc Trang, in the book Dai Nam Quoc Am Tu Vi by author Huynh Tinh Paulus Cua published in 1896, there is no word Than Tai, but there is the word "Than Dat" as an annotation for the entry "tho than", and it is interpreted as "the god of money". However, next to the entry "tai than", Mr. Paulus Cua did not explain the meaning but noted "rarely used".
When raising the issue of the origin of the 10th day of the first lunar month associated with the concept of the God of Wealth as it has long been, and now there is an opinion that the 10th day is the God of Earth's day, not the God of Wealth, Mr. Huynh Ngoc Trang said that this originated from the work of Dong Phuong Soc (a scholar during the Han Dynasty) talking about the concept of creation (the creation of heaven, earth and species) of the Chinese people.
"Accordingly, the first day of the month gives birth to chickens, the second day gives birth to dogs, the third day gives birth to pigs, the fourth day gives birth to goats, the fifth day gives birth to buffaloes, the sixth day gives birth to horses, the seventh day gives birth to humans, the eighth day gives birth to cereals, the ninth day gives birth to heaven, and the tenth day gives birth to earth. Accordingly, the day of the God's birthday is the 10th day of the first lunar month: the day of "earth's birth".
According to this concept, there is also a custom of considering May 10 as "earth lap" day.
But according to the Chinese concept and the broader Chinese cultural influence in the East Asia region, in the philosophy of the five elements, it is believed that earth generates metal. That is, earth generates money and wealth (as understood by Huynh Tinh Paulus Cua in the Dai Nam Quoc Am Tu Vi above), thus the custom of worshipping the God of Wealth appeared.
Also according to researcher Huynh Ngoc Trang, in terms of imagery, the God of Wealth statue worshiped in Vietnamese families for a long time is similar to the "God of the Land, the God of Fortune and Virtue" statue among Chinese worship statues.
"However, along with the development of business life, the God of Wealth is considered essential. And today in families, people also worship both the statues of Tho Dia and Than Tai on the same altar, which shows the concept of "money comes from the land" or "Than Dia is the god of wealth".
Common activities on God of Wealth day
On this day, families and businesses that value the worship of the God of Wealth often have the following activities:
Worship the God of Wealth
The worship of the God of Wealth on the 10th of January is to thank the God for his help in the past, and to pray for him to continue to give wealth this year and for business to be more favorable.
Offerings to the God of Wealth usually include: candles, incense, water (3 cups), wine (3 cups), rice, votive paper money, salt, fresh flowers, a tray of five fruits, betel and areca nuts, and possibly a tray of savory dishes.
Depending on the region and the economic conditions of each family, the savory tray is prepared differently. Many families offer a set of three offerings including boiled pork (the pork must have fat, lean meat, and skin), 3 boiled eggs, and 3 shrimps. The Southerners' offering tray often includes grilled snakehead fish or roasted pork with rice vermicelli.
Buy gold
Many people often buy gold on God of Wealth day to pray for luck, prosperity, and wealth. They buy gold to pay tribute to the God of Wealth, thanking him for the past year to help their business prosper and have good sales.
In the past, only business people bought gold on January 10 for the purpose of praying for wealth. In recent years, many others have followed this trend.
Buy feng shui items
On the day of the God of Wealth, many people buy feng shui items such as feng shui stones, three-legged toad statues... to pray for a prosperous year of business and more abundance and luck.
Buy Lucky Cat
Not only buying gold, many people also buy Lucky Cats on this day with the wish for good fortune, luck in work, and smooth business.
Good hours on God of Wealth Day 2024
In fact, the 10th day of each lunar month is considered the day to worship the God of Wealth. However, in a year, the God of Wealth's day in January is the most important because this is the first month of the year. With the view of a smooth start and a smooth ending, people believe that if the God of Wealth blesses them on this day, their business will go smoothly all year.
According to feng shui experts, in the year of Giap Thin, the good hours to worship the God of Wealth 2024 on January 10 include: Mao hour (5-7am), Ty hour (9-11am) and Than hour (3-5pm).
During the above time frames, the homeowner brings gold and silver through the main gate, the main door and places it in the safe, the place where the family's money is often kept, to have a new year with lots of fortune, luck and prosperity.
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