Notes when cleaning and trimming incense sticks
Feng shui expert Nguyen Song Ha said: "The person who cleans the altar must be neatly dressed and clean. Before the day of this procedure, avoid sexual intercourse between husband and wife.
One day before, avoid eating foods of the four sacred animals such as dog meat, cat meat, snake meat, snake wine, soft-shelled turtle blood pudding, turtle, carp, snake wine, tiger bone wine, shrimp paste, and shrimp paste.
The homeowner must finish worshiping the Kitchen Gods before being allowed to clean and trim the incense sticks.
When cleaning the altar and removing incense sticks, do so gently to avoid dropping or breaking offerings; do not clean or clean the ancestral incense bowl before the gods; when cleaning, use warm, clean water; be careful not to move the incense bowl or the altar.
In addition, you need to prepare five-spice water and ginger-infused wine. Five-spice water is water boiled from 5 ingredients including dried star anise and dried cinnamon as 2 fixed flavors, plus 3 types of aromatic leaves (depending on the season, depending on the region) such as lemongrass, basil, betel, grapefruit leaves, vang wood, fragrant pandan leaves, fragrant leaves...
After asking permission to read the prayer before cleaning and trimming the incense sticks, the homeowner proceeds to remove each incense stick one by one until the most beautiful number of incense sticks remain.
What do you need for the altar offering tray?
According to expert Nguyen Song Ha, before cleaning the altar, the homeowner needs to prepare the offerings and tray as follows: 1 plate of sticky rice, 1 piece of boiled meat, 1 plate of seasonal fruit, 1 teapot and a set of 5 small cups, 3 small cups of wine, 1 open bottle of mineral water or 1 cup of boiled water that has cooled, 10 offerings of gold coins and red money, 2 vases of flowers.
Instructions for trimming incense sticks properly
First, the homeowner asks for permission from the ancestors or gods. The person who pulls out the incense sticks needs to dress neatly, cleanly, and politely, read the prayer, and light incense to ask for permission before pulling out the sticks.
After asking for permission, the homeowner proceeds to remove each incense stick one by one, until the most beautiful number of incense sticks remain.
Normally, the homeowner should leave odd numbers 15, 17, 19.
If you are a big businessman, leave 25, 27, or 29 incense sticks to bring good fortune for the next year.
If we classify according to the incense bowls, the incense bowl to worship the communal house gods (colloquially called the Gods of the Land) should keep 15 or 25 incense sticks; the incense bowl to worship the communal ancestors should keep 17 or 27 incense sticks; the incense bowl to worship the maternal and paternal ancestors should keep 19 or 29 incense sticks.
While pruning the incense sticks, do not move or move the incense bowl. Hold the incense bowl with one hand and gently pull it out with the other hand. To be careful, do it with two people, one holding it and one pulling it out. After finishing, you need to light the incense carefully and report it to the ancestors and gods.
After pulling out the incense sticks, they will be burned to ashes, dumped into the river or buried at the base of a tree in the garden. Absolutely do not litter.
