Affordable votive offerings for the Kitchen God and Stove God are attracting customers.

This year, the market for votive offerings for the Kitchen God's departure to heaven has started to get busy since the beginning of the twelfth lunar month. However, according to business owners in Hang Ma, Hang Luoc, and Luong Van Can streets, the number of buyers is lower this year, and they are mainly focusing on purchasing affordable items.

From the beginning of December in the lunar calendar, people carrying offerings for the Kitchen God and Goddess appear on the streets of the capital. During these days, the number of street vendors increases significantly, and shops selling offerings for the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month also display a wide variety of items for deities and the Kitchen God.

According to our reporter's survey, the offerings for this year's ceremony are nothing new; they still consist of clothes, shoes, hats, carp, gold coins, paper horses, etc., to bid farewell to the Kitchen God as he ascends to heaven.

The prices of these goods vary depending on the design, size, and material, and can range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dong.

Each set of offerings includes one set for the deities and three sets for the kitchen gods. A set of "Ông Công, Ông Táo" (Kitchen Gods) consists of three hats and three sets of clothes, made in small, medium, and large sizes.

Affordable sets of Ông Công and Ông Táo (Kitchen Gods) are more popular among buyers.

Small sets made of colored paper are the cheapest, costing only 40,000 - 60,000 VND/set. Medium-sized sets cost from 90,000 - 110,000 VND/set, and large sets cost from 140,000 - 160,000 VND/set. The most expensive are the sets made of glossy colored paper, scented and with embossed patterns, costing no less than 300,000 VND/set.

However, according to vendors selling votive offerings, this year, people mainly chose to buy mid-range sets priced at 40,000 – 60,000 VND/set. Sets costing several hundred thousand VND were rarely bought, or only by those who had placed orders in advance.

Ms. Bao, a vendor selling votive offerings in Hang Ma Street, said that since the beginning of the month, her best-selling items have been the set of Ông Công Ông Táo (Kitchen God) figurines, priced at a few tens of thousands of dong. The more expensive ones are rarely bought. Some people also buy paper horses or carp, but other items like miniature houses, cars, and televisions have hardly sold at all.

Ms. Loan, who sells votive offerings on Hang Luoc Street, shared: "Sales are already slow, and some people even say that buying carp for offerings is enough, but they don't know if the ancestors will receive the paper offerings if they buy a set of paper items to burn, so they don't buy them."

Currently, purchasing power is still quite weak, but from the 20th onwards, vendors of votive offerings hope that demand will gradually increase, because according to the beliefs of most people, many things can be omitted from purchase, but offerings for religious ceremonies are difficult to skimp on.

According to Labor