Whose birthday is traditionally marked on the ninth day of Chinese New Year?

Whose birthday is traditionally marked on the ninth day of Chinese New Year? The answer is the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor, or Yù Huáng, is a supreme ruler of heaven in Chinese mythology and religious tradition. His birthday is observed on the ninth day of the first lunar month, especially among Hokkien communities and Chinese communities in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.

Known in Hokkien as Ti Kong, or “Heavenly Grandfather,” the Jade Emperor is honored through a ceremony called bai Ti Kong, meaning “worship the Heavenly Lord.” Families and temples erect elaborate altars, burn incense and paper offerings, and present fruit, cakes, noodles, wine and other ritual foods. Some observances begin late on the eighth day and continue into the ninth.

A common mix-up is Guan Yu: he is associated with the fifth day in some New Year traditions, while the Kitchen God reports each household’s conduct to the Jade Emperor. The ninth-day observance is not the Lantern Festival, which falls on the fifteenth day.