[5] He was the lord of volcanoes,[6] the personification of life after death, warmth in cold (fire), light in darkness and food during famine.

He was also named Cuezaltzin [kʷeˈs̻aɬt͡sin̥] ("flame") and Ixcozauhqui [iːʃkoːˈsaʍkiˀ],[7] and is sometimes considered to be the same as Huehueteotl ("Old God"),[8] although Xiuhtecuhtli is usually shown as a young deity.

[12] The cult of the God of Fire, of the Year, and of Turquoise perhaps began as far back as the middle Preclassic period.

[14] A small fire was permanently kept alive at the sacred center of every Aztec home in honor of Xiuhtecuhtli.

[22] Stone sculptures of Xiuhtecuhtli were ritually buried as offerings, and various statuettes have been recovered during excavations at the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan with which he was closely associated.

On his back he has plumage resembling a dragon's head, made of yellow feathers with marine conch shells.

[12] In his right hand he has a kind of scepter that was a round gold plate with a hole in the middle, and topped by two globes, one larger than the other, the smaller one had a point.

Feasts were held in honor of Xiuhtecuhtli to keep his favors, and human sacrifices were burned after removing their heart.

[34] The Nahuatl word izcalli means "stone house" and refers to the building where maize used to be dried and roasted between mid-January and mid-February.

[35] A framework image of the deity was constructed from wood and was richly finished with clothing, feathers and an elaborate mask.

[38] Every four years a more solemn version of the festival was held at the temple of Xiuhtecuhtli in Tenochtitlan, attended by the emperor and his nobles.

This was the time the 365-day solar and the 260-day sacred calendars ended on the same day and the Aztec celebrated the Binding of the Years with the New Fire Ceremony.

Having ascertained this, they would tear out the heart of a sacrificial victim and kindle a flame in a small wooden hearth they placed inside the hole left in his chest.