Joss stick
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joss sticks are a type of incense sticks, burned before a Chinese religious image, idol, or shrine. Some joss stick burning rituals (praying) need not perform in front of any religious images, it can be burned before anything without restriction. In modern days, the burning of joss sticks can be used for any type of purpose, such as to enhance the smell of a room, or to serve as a lighter to light fire crackers.
Joss sticks are religious materials in China, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Korea, Japan, the Philippines and others.
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[edit] Types of joss sticks
Joss stick burning is an everyday practice in traditional Chinese religion. There are many different types of joss sticks depending on purposes or on defferent festive days. For the Ghost festival days, the big Dragon Joss Stick is often used, as well as the Spiral Joss Sticks.
[edit] Cost of joss sticks
The price of joss sticks can range from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars, depending on where the joss sticks were made. An example of high quality joss sticks are usually from Mainland China or Taiwan, where incense is either handmade or special ingredients are used to enhance the smell and burn length of the stick.