What is the God of Wealth and the God of Wealth on the first day of the Chinese New Year? Who are they?

The Spring Festival is one of the most important festivals in China. During this day, we also have many activities to pray for good luck and a smooth future. So, which god do we welcome on New Year’s Day?

What god do we welcome on New Year's Day?

The first day of the Lunar New Year is to welcome the God of Wealth. I wish you good weather and lots of money in the new year. There is an old saying in ancient times: "Close the door to wealth on New Year's Eve and welcome the God of Wealth on New Year's Day." However, in Chinese mythology, the God of Wealth is not a person but the name of a deity. There are two kinds of God of Wealth in our country, the Military God of Wealth and the Literary God of Wealth.

Who is Wu Caishen?

The most familiar to everyone among the God of Wealth should be Guan Erye. In fact, Guan Erye's status was not high in history. It was not until the Song Dynasty that Guan Erye was truly known by more people. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, he was sought after because of Luo Guanzhong's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and his status soared, even on par with Confucius. So at this time, Guan Erye became the object of many people's prayers, and gradually he became one of the Gods of Wealth and War. In addition to Guan Erye, our country has another military god of wealth. According to the "Complete Collection of Soushen" in the Yuan Dynasty, there was a military general who rode a mountain tiger, held a steel whip in his hand, and had the ability to call the wind and rain. He was Zhao Gongming. In fact, Zhao Gongming was not named the God of Wealth in Jiang Ziya's Investiture of the Gods, but people believed that he had four subordinates who were in charge of business and money, so people gradually worshipped Zhao Gongming as the God of Wealth.

Who is Wen Caishen?

There are also two Wen Caishen. The first one is Bigan, who was upright and honest in the Shang Dynasty and had his heart dug out by King Zhou. It was because of Bigan's upright character during his lifetime and because his heart was dug out, he no longer had any bad thoughts. So people regard him as the representative of justice and fairness. Don’t ordinary people pray for a fair business environment when doing business? The second God of Wealth was a wealthy businessman, Fan Li. He was not just an ordinary businessman, he was also a famous strategist. He helped the King of Yue to avenge his humiliation. After completing his political goals, he left behind a sentence: "When the birds are all gone, the bows are put away; when the rabbits are dead, the dogs are cooked." He retired after achieving his goal. After retiring, Fan Li became a businessman and soon became a wealthy man. He was also known as the "Saint of Business." In addition, Fan Li was kind and generous, so he was gradually worshipped as the God of Wealth.

How to welcome the God of Wealth on New Year's Day

In ancient times, the time to invite the God of Wealth began from New Year's Eve. One of the reasons why people stayed up on New Year's Eve was to invite the God of Wealth. In ancient times, small merchants would walk the streets on New Year's Eve, delivering red paper printed with the God of Wealth to every household. If a family had no money, they could take out some food to exchange for one. On the first day of the New Year, people will open the door early to welcome the God of Wealth. They will light incense and firecrackers to open the door to wealth and invite the God of Wealth to take his place. After welcoming the God of Wealth back, we have to wait until the second day of the New Year to worship him. On this day, we have to get up early and put out offerings. In the south, where people are more particular, there will be three tables of offerings. The first table is fruit, the most important of which is Guangju, which means a prosperous business. The second table is cakes and biscuits, and there must be rice cakes, which means promotion year by year. The last table is the highlight, with chicken, duck, fish and meat, which means to attract wealth and have surplus every year. Then the host lights incense and candles and begins the worship.