Our ancestors used "not burning incense at ordinary times, cramming for the Buddha's feet temporarily" as a metaphor for people who want to get something for nothing and take advantage of it. "Broken incense" was even more unacceptable in feudal times. Even today, the performance level of a temple is measured by "the peak of incense". Why is incense so valued? Not only China people, but also countries all over the world have the tradition of burning incense and offering sacrifices.
The ancient Egyptians introduced spice trees from Arabian Peninsula and the coast of Somalia, and regarded incense as an important item in religious ceremonies. Babylonians burned incense during prayer and divination, and some altars were dedicated to burning incense. From the 8th century BC, the Greeks burned wood and resin to worship gods and drive away demons. The Romans first burned incense wood, and later introduced incense. Even the tradition of wanting to blow out candles on today's birthday is a kind of incense burned from abroad. The birthday cake was originally a tribute from the ancient Greeks to themis, the goddess of the moon, on the altar. They believe that candles have mysterious power. After lighting the candles, they hope their wishes can reach the sky with the smoke.
The ancient customs in the West are strikingly similar to our culture in China in burning incense! In the traditional culture of China, it is considered that "burning" means "taking" and "fragrance" means "faith". Incense can connect heaven and earth and is a medium to communicate with another world. Incense is like a communication tool to convey wishes to ghosts and gods. Ghosts and gods get energy in a different way from ordinary people. People eat vegetables, but they are mainly popular. Therefore, the most important step is to burn incense and paper money, whether it is to worship God, Buddha, ancestors or ghosts.