Should we continuously burn incense during Tet?

To burn incense continuously during Tet or not?

Many families still have the habit of burning incense continuously on Tet holiday. Even when the incense is extinguished, many houses still light it up with the hope that the worship space is always warm and cozy.

Illustration photo

However, feng shui experts believe that the habit of burning incense continuously during Tet is incorrect. Families should not burn incense too much and continuously. Experts recommend that the best time to burn incense when offering incense is when the altar table for New Year’s Eve and the New Year’s Eve feast is ready, and when transitioning from the old year to the new year, you should burn incense one more time.

Burning incense or chanting continuously during Tet will disturb the ancestors, especially when you do not supplement new things. Doing so is equivalent to inviting ancestors to eat old food again, showing insincerity and lack of respect for ancestors.

Spiritual practitioners believe that you should only burn incense before offering incense. For each incense bowl, you only need to light one incense stick. Moreover, you can also use an incense ring to help the incense always burn on the altar on festive days and anniversary days.

In case you want to burn an incense ring to create a warm atmosphere on Tet holidays, pay attention to place the incense ring inside the dish and light it outside the incense bowl. This will help prevent the incense bowl from being affected and the altar can be easily cleaned.

Note that you should not wear shabby clothes or clothes with holes, but dress neatly when burning incense. During the ceremony, you should chant continuously without interrupting to arrange incense or do other work. You need to show sincerity when worshipping to show respect for the deities and ancestors.

How many incense sticks to burn is appropriate?

Many people wonder how many incense sticks to burn on Tet holidays. In Buddhism, incense is one of the six important offerings when making offerings. There are many different views on how many incense sticks to burn is appropriate. However, most Vietnamese people choose odd numbers such as 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 when burning incense.

According to the theory of Yin and Yang harmony, even numbers symbolize the Yin realm, while odd numbers symbolize the nourishing realm. You should also not light up a bunch of incense at once, as it will make the smoke too strong and pollute the air.

The number of incense sticks to burn does not differ in meaning. The important thing is that the person’s heart must be reverent towards the Buddha. Many temples also encourage Buddhists to burn only one incense stick to avoid environmental pollution and fire hazards.