When is the day to welcome the God of Wealth?

Welcoming the God of Wealth has a long history and tradition in our country. On the fourth night of the first lunar month after the Spring Festival, every household is busy, because after 12 o'clock, it is the day to welcome the God of Wealth. So when is the day to welcome the God of Wealth? What is the story of welcoming the God of Wealth?

When is the day to welcome the God of Wealth?

The day to welcome the God of Wealth is the fifth day of the first lunar month;

According to folklore, the fifth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the God of Wealth. On this evening, a pair of large red candles will be lit in front of the eight-immortals table in every household, and a pair of shiny "gold ingots" will be hung on it. In the front is the statue of the God of Wealth, and on the table are placed a large live carp, a cooked pig's head and a rooster; and also: God of Wealth cakes, auspicious cakes, crispy candies and top scholar cakes. Then there are four kinds of fruits. On both sides of the table were a row of cups filled with rice wine and a handful of chopsticks. There is a live carp tied to a bamboo pole on the front corner of the table, which means abundance every year.

The story of welcoming the God of Wealth

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was a rich man named Wang Erze in Dongcui Village. His beard was half black and half white. He was very wealthy and owned several acres of land and herds of mules and horses, but he believed in ghosts and gods. People burn paper during the Qingming Festival and incense during the New Year. People of all sizes must visit temples on the third, sixth, and ninth days of the lunar calendar. When going out, they first check to see if there is a black tiger blocking the road or if it is an auspicious day.

One day, three people came from Dongyang Pass, claiming that they could contact the God of Wealth and cast magic spells to make people rich. The rich man Wang Erze was overjoyed when he heard this and treated the three people even more warmly. The three people from Dongyangguan were secretly delighted. Now that they had met an old money-grubber, they were sure to get rich.

From then on, Wang Erze and his family ignored other chores and went to the crossroads outside the village to burn incense every night, burning from the intersection all the way to their home. They sacrificed pigs, sheep and even the statue of the God of Wealth, all at the mercy of the three scammers. Besides, Zhilan, the youngest daughter of the rich man Wang Erze, is smart and clever. Every time she kneels down to kowtow, she always wants to watch how to welcome the God of Wealth. The three scammers were afraid of being exposed, so they said that she was not sincere and the God of Wealth would not accept her.

The rich man Wang Er was eager to get rich, so he sent her to her grandmother's house. When the three swindlers saw that the time was ripe, they moved a water jar, filled it with water, put the fake gold ingots in it, and said to Wang Erze: "Put an ingot into the water jar before burning incense, and you will get a pair. Put a pair in, and you will get two pairs." The rich man Wang Erze put it in and it worked. He was convinced by the three swindlers' trick.

When the three scammers met Wang Erze, they couldn't tell the real ingots from the fake ones, yet they kowtowed to him three times and nine times, trusting him devoutly. He said to Wang Erze: "The God of Wealth has taken it back. The more gold ingots you put in, the more you will get. It can grow exponentially and you will get rich." Wang Erze took out all the gold ingots in his home and put them into the jar. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, waiting for the God of Wealth to give him gold ingots. Seeing that Wang Erze was bewitched, the three swindlers quietly took out the gold ingots from the jar, replaced them with bricks and tiles, led three mules and horses out of the stable, loaded with the gold ingots, and left Zhao Yuntai towards Dongyang Pass.

Wang Erze could not kneel any longer and opened his eyes. He saw that the three people who had come to welcome the God of Wealth were no longer sitting in front of the God of Wealth's statue. When he looked again in the water tank, he saw that it was full of bricks and tiles. Only then did he realize that he had been cheated. When he went to the stable to get the horses, he found that three were missing. He hurriedly ordered the farmhands to chase them, but how could they catch up? After a while, the farmhands came back and said, "Boss, the God of Wealth ran too fast and we couldn't catch him." After hearing this, the old rich man sat down under the eaves and just sighed.