送灶神 （上）Sending the Kitchen God Off

灶神是玉皇大帝派遣到凡间督察善恶的神灵。相传，灶神的左右侍奉着两个神灵，一位手捧“善罐”，另一位则手捧“恶罐”，他们随时将每家人的善行恶举分别保存在这两个罐中，并在年终时向玉皇大帝报告。
每年农历十二月二十四日就是灶神离开人间上天的日子，所以民间又把这一天称作“辞灶”，这一天家家户户都要送“灶神”。
The Kitchen God was awed by all not only because of his duty over people’s diet but also due to the fact that he was sent by the Jade Emperor to supervise man’s evil deeds. It is said that there were two gods tank which contains good deeds while the other holding a tank for evil things. The Kitchen God would bring all his records to the Heaven when he left the earth on Lunar December 24th, which later was commemorated as the day for human being to bid farewell to the Kitchen God.
资料来源 (Resources):
中国节庆文化丛书：春节
Chinese Festival Culture Series: The Spring Festival