Joss stick facts for kids

Joss sticks in a Japanese market.

Joss sticks are thin sticks that burn slowly and release a nice smell. They are a type of incense. People often light them during rituals or for religious reasons.

Traditionally, joss sticks are burned in front of religious items. This includes Asian religious images, idols, buddha statues, or shrines. Sometimes, these burning rituals and prayers don't need a religious image. They can be done in front of anything, like a door or an open window, as an offering.

Today, joss sticks are used for many reasons. They can make a room smell better. They are also sometimes used to light fireworks.

Images for kids

• 

  Burning incense at the Longhua Temple

• 

  Egyptian Incense Burner, 7th century BC

• 

  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)

• 

  A Räucherkerzchen – A charcoal-based incense cone

• 

  Burning incense stick and its smoke

• 

  Drying cored stick incense, Vietnam

• 

  Raw charcoal incense sticks

• 

  Some incense sticks are uneven in thickness.

• 

  Incense at Yonghe Temple in Beijing, China

• 

  Incense in India

• 

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

• 

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

• 

  Incense burning at a temple in Taipei, Taiwan

• 

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

• 

  Big Dragon incense sticks

• 

  Unpacked incense sticks in a Buddhist/Taoist shrine in Malaysia