Incense

What is incense?

Incense is an aromatic wood resin. One of the oldest varieties comes from the trunk of the Boswellia tree, which grows in the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa. As for Mount Athos, the monks have been producing their own frankincense for hundreds of years. The small packages prepared in the monasteries make an excellent gift from the Athonite state for you and your beloved ones.

What does the incense symbolize?

1. The incense symbolizes prayer ascending to the heavenly throne of the Lord. For this reason, we use incense primarily during our personal prayer time in front of the iconostasis at home.

2. On the day of Pentecost the apostles were all gathered together, when suddenly there was a loud noise, like a wind coming down from heaven and filling the air. Little flames of fire appeared above their heads. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak all the languages of the world.

3. These little flames are also symbolized by the incense. The pleasant smell of incense fills the temple and symbolizes the fullness that believers feel in their hearts when they are filled with the grace of the Lord.

Just as the fragrance of incense rises upwards, so the soul of the believer feels uplifted, forgets the worldly things that hold it in mortality and, through prayer, it participates to the Divine Grace.

The history of incense

The method of making frankincense was given to Moses by God himself:

«Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, 35 and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. 36 Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37 Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from their peopleQ.» (Exodus 30:34-38)

Furthermore, incense was one of the gifts given to Christ by the three Magi:

“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh." (Matt. 2:11)

The gifts for Jesus were therefore three, gold, frankincense and myrrh. Each of these is interpreted through a particular symbolism.

• Gold is a gift worthy of a king and indicates that Christ was born to be the King of all things.
• Frankincense is a gift that indicates the divinity of the Divine Infant.
• Lastly, myrrh is a precious material that was associated with funeral rites and therefore symbolized the future sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

It is likely that from this act of the magi and the offering of their gifts to the Divine Infant, the tradition of exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve has begun.