Followers

Follow on Bloglovin

Sunday, February 11, 2018

God of Prosperity

Me and The God of Prosperity
You are at the mall, browsing through clothes on a rack and someone behind you taps you on the shoulder. You turn around and see this big guy in a red dress with an enormous head. Don't freak out!  You've just been blessed by The God of Prosperity and wealth will be upon you soon!

"Hogwash!", you say. Well, that was what I thought too. Then you go home, check your e-mail and scrolling down your inbox, you see the words, "Congrats. You've won..." on not one, but two subject lines. You win one $250 Paypal cash giveaway and another $100 Amazon Gift Card giveaway all on the same day, right after you've been touched by The God of Prosperity?! Fluke or what?
image source - https://www.dhgate.com
According to Chinese mythology, Caishen aka God of Prosperity is a powerful deity, usually depicted  in red clothes, riding a black tiger and holding a Ruyi (a scepter with the power to turn rock, some say iron, into gold). He also has magic pearls that would explode as grenades. He's one cool dude! Caishen is also heaven's accountant and he guards all the treasures above. More than that, he has the power to bestow fortune and wealth to humans on earth. Zeus has nothing on Caishen!

Once a mortal, Caishen was the uncle and  minister to Emperor Zhou of the Shang Dynasty. An honest and successful merchant, Caishen was loved and revered by many as he was benevolent to fellow merchants and the needy. He would fund the failing businesses of his merchant pallies with no obligations  and share his riches with those in need.

Soon his increasing popularity invoked the jealousy of Emperor Zhou and his family.
Daji, Emperor Zhou’s most favored concubine killed Caishen by digging out his heart. But legend has it that he did not die. He was given a magical panacea by a hermit that saved his life. Caishen fled to the woods with his wife, children and fortune. He would continually emerge from the woods to distribute his wealth to the peasants. The magical panacea gave him immortality and he ultimately ascended to heaven as The God of Prosperity.

While Caishen is worshipped in temples and homes all-year round, the deity is a popular icon during the Chinese New Year season. You would see mascots like the one above in many malls in Malaysia. Think Santa Claus! Instead of gifts, The God of Prosperity hands out candies, faux gold ingots and ang-pows (red packets with money inside) as symbols of wealth and good luck.

My cookified God of Prosperity
Dog...er... God of Prosperity
2018 is the Year of The Dog, pallies!

ethannevelyn.com

Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday

22 comments:

  1. I take this seriously and I'm guessing you do too. You sure went home to find some good things. Excellent.

    Have a fabulous day. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy Chinese New Year!

    Your cookie is perfect for the Year of the Dog. You are very talented with your cookies!

    Send that God of Prosperity over here, won't you? I would like him to surprise me with a tap on the shoulder.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love seeing different holidays celebrated.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Veronica,

    If I got an email saying I won anything I'd probably mark it as spam. lol One can't be too careful these days with hackers and spambots waiting to fleece you have your life's savings. Boy, do I ever sound gloomy! lol I guess I'm too weary of such things but what fun to think one's been blessed with good fortune as this. :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow luck at you lucky girl!
    Happy Chinese New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a nice story congrats bless the God Of Prosperity heheh!

    Happy Chinese New Year from me too :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh wow I love this! You look great with the God of Prosperity. I like how the cookie turned out.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, that's super cool! Thanks for sharing on NanaHood.com
    Teresa

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great photo. I had not heard of him, I wish he would visit me.

    ReplyDelete
  10. may we all continue to prosper in the year to come. Your cookie looks super cute!

    ReplyDelete
  11. That is fannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnntastic!!!! CONGRATULATIONS! I have won little things here and there, but nothing in a very long time, but I never won anything really big!!! Woo Hoo! Don't forget you really need to buy a little something for yourself... something you always wanted. What's the sense of winning without doing something frivolous! WOO HOO! YOU GO GIRL! SO HAPPY FOR YOU!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I
    have really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. After all I'll be
    subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again very soon!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Happy Chinese New Year! May you find peace, health and prosperity! And, it's the year of the Dog! It keeps getting better! #Fabfridaypost

    ReplyDelete
  14. Caishen sound like one cool due! Congrats on your winning! How cool is that! Please send him on my way. hehe I need a bit of luck over here too. ;) xx

    Thank you very much for linking up with us on #FabFridayPost

    ReplyDelete
  15. Fascinating legend - thanks for sharing it, and for joining this week's linkup at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2018/02/preparing-for-next-exhibit.html

    ReplyDelete
  16. Cool! I hope he taps me on the shoulder too! Congrats on your wins.

    ReplyDelete
  17. May the God of Prosperity bless us all, in this new year, in our lives.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh my gosh, that is one AMAZING cookie. The detail in the face is amazing.

    Also, that little pug gif is possibly one of the cutest things I ever saw. :D #KCACOLS

    ReplyDelete
  19. Interesting read, very cool to come across something a bit different. Happy New Year! #KCACOLS

    ReplyDelete
  20. The God of Prosperity looks like a jolly chap thought I think I'd jump if he crept up on me while shopping! #kcacols

    ReplyDelete
  21. Well done on your wins! I love it when random and unexpected things like this happen :) Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next time

    ReplyDelete