Today, January 28 or the 23rd of the 12th lunar month is the Kitchen Gods’ Day when families across Vietnam bid farewell the Kitchen Gods to thank them for watching over their house for the year.  

People buy carp to release them into rivers, lakes and ponds on the day so that the Kitchen Gods can ride carp to Heaven to deliver an annual report on the household’s activities to the God of Heaven.

This is one of the traditional events that officially starts the celebrations of the Lunar New Year. 

Yen So Fish Market usually attracts many customers at this time. On Sunday, dozens of trucks transported carp from other localities to the market. 

Nguyen Van Luan, a market trader said, he and many other people came to the market since the early morning to buy carp for sale in different markets in Hanoi. 

Carp are priced at between VND20,000 to VND100,000 per kilo, depending on their size and their origin. Imported species are more expensive. 

Carp are brought to the market from Hanoi’s neighbouring localities such as Hai Duong, Ha Nam and Phu Tho provinces. 

The fish is divided into different kinds for sales. 

Many families often buy carp at the market to have cheaper prices.