Joss stick facts for kids

Joss sticks in a Japanese market.

Joss sticks are a type of incense. They are traditionally burned before an Asian religious image, idol, buddha statue, or shrine. But some joss stick burning rituals (and the prayers that come with it) do not need to be done in front of religious images. They can be burned before anything without limits; like in front of a door, or open window as an offering. In modern days, the burning of joss sticks can be used for any reason, like making the smell of a room better or lighting fireworks up.

Images for kids

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  Burning incense at the Longhua Temple

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  Egyptian Incense Burner, 7th century BC

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  Some commonly used raw incense and incense-making materials (from left to right, top down) Makko powder (Machilus thunbergii), Borneol camphor (Dryobalanops aromatica), Sumatra Benzoin (Styrax benzoin), Omani frankincense (Boswellia sacra), Guggul (Commiphora wightii), Golden Frankincense (Boswellia papyrifera), the new world Tolu balsam (Myroxylon toluifera) from South America, Somali myrrh (Commiphora myrrha), Labdanum (Cistus villosus), Opoponax (Commiphora opoponax), and white Indian sandalwood powder (Santalum album)

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  A Räucherkerzchen – A charcoal-based incense cone

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  Burning incense stick and its smoke

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  Drying cored stick incense, Vietnam

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  Raw charcoal incense sticks

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  Some incense sticks are uneven in thickness.

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  Incense at Yonghe Temple in Beijing, China

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  Incense in India

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  The giant Botafumeiro thurible swinging from the ceiling of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

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  [Papier d'Armenie]] was used to disinfect.

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  Incense burning at a temple in Taipei, Taiwan

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  Joss sticks in the Temple of Literature, Hanoi in Hanoi, Vietnam

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  Big Dragon incense sticks

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  Unpacked incense sticks in a Buddhist/Taoist shrine in Malaysia