Ancestor worship during Tet holiday is one of the beautiful cultural features of Vietnamese people. The respectful incense sticks are like a bridge to convey the wishes and desires of the living to their deceased ancestors.
To have a fragrant stick of incense requires a lot of effort from those who make incense. Cao Thon incense village (Bao Khe commune, Hung Yen city) is one of the oldest incense making villages in the country with a history of more than 200 years.
As the largest incense village in the North, Cao Thon incense brand is not only famous domestically but also spread far and wide around the world. Legend has it that Mrs. Dao Thi Khuong, a talented and beautiful girl from the village, traveled and traded everywhere, then married a man in China, where she learned the craft of making incense.
When she had mastered all the secrets of the craft, she returned to her hometown and taught the craft to the people of Cao Thon village. From then on, the incense-making profession of Cao Thon village developed, the village's reputation spread far and wide, and everyone knew the village.
Cao Thon incense is made entirely from herbs, including thirty-six Chinese medicinal herbs. Cao Thon people always believe that these thirty-six Chinese medicinal herbs are like the quintessence of heaven and earth converging, this is also a family secret that only family members can pass on...
...and especially not allowed to pass on the profession to people outside the family. This is also the "soul" that the people of Cao Thon village have preserved for hundreds of years.
Heritage Magazine
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