June 07, 2006
sesame candy and stove god
A new visiting scholar from China has arrived, and she kindly brought us some sesame candy. To me, sesame candy and the story behind it are so familiar, that I almost take it for granted that the Americans and Japanese know the story as well. When I told them the story, they liked it at once.
Sesame candy made by rolling maltose candy stick with sesame seeds is traditionally consumed at a certain day in the Chinese lunar calendar near Spring Festival (I cann't remember clearly). At the first bite, the candy is quite crunchy. But, as you chew on it, it becomes quite sticky. And this is why this candy is purchased on the particular day. It is said every household has a stove god. On that day, the god will go to heaven and report what you've done during the year, both good and bad things. People are afraid that the stove god will say bad things about them. So they will prepare the sesame candy as bribe/offering to the stove god. When the stove god takes it, the sticky candy will glue his mouth, then he can no longer report bad things about you.
-- It is an interesting story for people from other culture background.
Posted by renh at 03:36 PM | Comments (0)