Over the past few days, Thuy Tram village in northern Phu Tho province’s Cam Khe district has been bursting with commotion as many are busy catching and distributing “ca chep do” (red carp) across the country. The fish is traditionally used in a Tet ritual as a means for the kitchen gods to ride to Heaven today, the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month.

The village has earned a long-standing reputation for raising the most gorgeous red carp for the Tet ritual.

Nguyen Van Chin, a seasoned carp farmer, said his family has raised carp for dozens of years. Many villagers have dedicated themselves to the work not only to earn money, but to preserve the long-cherished tradition.

In the past few days, all the ponds in the village have been drained so that 6-month-old red carp can be harvested. Healthy, large, and shiny red carp are the preferred choice of customers and fetch good prices.

More than 500 households in the village are engaged in red carp farming, with each family boasting at least two or three ponds. They take meticulous care of the fish and feed them with homegrown food instead of growth-boosting industrial feed.

Each year on the special occasion, a total of some 60 tons of carp are distributed to other provinces and cities, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Each kg fetches some VND100 – 120,000 (US$6).

These days, local markets are filled with the carp, which are kept in basins or nylon bags. The fish draw a large number of dealers from across the country with their good-sized healthy bodies, nice-shape, and stunning color.

In Vietnamese tradition, offerings are made to Ong Cong and Ong Tao (Gods of the Kitchen) on the 23rd day of the last month of the lunar year. The gods are traditionally believed to go to Heaven and brief Ngoc Hoang (the Jade Emperor) on all affairs of the owner of the house where they stay, and pray for luck, prosperity, and happiness for all members of the household. On Lunar New Year's Eve, the gods return to earth and resume their caretaking duties in the kitchen of the house.

On Ong Cong and Ong Tao festival day, Vietnamese people typically prepare a basin of water in which they put one large live carp or three small ones. After the ritual is performed, the carp are set free into ponds or rivers. The custom is meant to use the carp as a means for the genies to ride to Heaven and relates to the humanitarian release of animals including birds and fish as a merit-acquiring deed as well as one that brings good luck.

Among the votive offerings to Ong Cong and Ong Tao, while northerners prefer a living carp, which is thought to transform into a dragon and fly through nine layers of the sky to Heaven, locals in central and southern Vietnam habitually use a woodblock print depicting a “flying stork and galloping horse” in place of the live carp. They also prepare bountiful sweets, believing that such generous offerings will encourage the gods to say nice things to the Jade Emperor about them and bring them good luck in the lunar new year.