中国自古就有祭神的习俗
周朝“五祀”便是其中之一
在《白虎通・五祀》中记载：
“门、户、井、灶、中溜”五神
掌管了人们的衣食住行，负责一家平安
Since ancient times, Chinese have had the tradition of worshiping gods.
In the Zhou Dynasty (1046B.C.-256B.C.), people worshiped five gods, namely the“Door God, Household God, Water Well God, Kitchen God, and the Window God”.
The five gods were in charge of human daily life and responsible for the safety of every family.
五神中的灶神，民间俗称灶王爷
全衔是“九天东厨司命太乙元皇定福奏善天尊”
是中国古代神话传说中的司饮食之神
“民以食为天”，因此灶神深受人们崇拜
The Kitchen God is among the five gods originating from the Food God in ancient Chinese legends.
As the old saying goes: “ Bread is the staff of life”, so the Kitchen God is deeply admired by many Chinese.
灶神也有监察人间善恶
掌握一家寿夭祸福的职能
传说小年夜，灶神升天向玉皇大帝汇报
到了初四，由天界重临人间
The Kitchen God also supervises human behavior and manages the destiny of a family.
It is said that on the day before the Chinese New Year’s Eve, the Kitchen God would report back to the Yuhuang Emperor in heaven.
On the fourth day of the first lunar month, the Kichen God would descend to earth again.
俗谚说：“送神早，接神迟。”
因此过去初四这天傍晚
家家户户备牲礼果菜
并焚香、烧金纸、放鞭炮以示恭迎
According to the old saying “early to see the god off and late to greet the god”, every families would prepare cattle, fruit and vegetables as a sacrifice, burn incense and golden paper money, and light fire-crackers to greet the god on the evening of the fourth day of the first lunar month.
在六悦博物馆的众多木雕造像中
灶神造像数量不少
大多以灶王爷与灶王奶奶成对出现
是一对和蔼可亲的老夫妇并坐的形象
There are a significant number of Kitchen God statues among the wood statues in our museum. The Kitchen God statue is mostly shown seated together with his wife, presenting a lovely image of a homely couple.
灶神是汉族民间最富代表性
最有广泛群众基础的流行神
寄托了汉族劳动人民
辟邪除灾、迎祥纳福的美好愿望
As the most representative of the Han people, the Kitchen God enjoys great popularity among the masses and embodies the working peoples’ wish for good luck and warding off evil spirits.
初四到，迎灶神！
六悦祝愿大家在新的一年
平安如意，健康顺遂！
With the arrival of the Kitchen God on the fourth day of the lunar new year, we wish you all the best during the Year of the Tiger!