Is there a rule regarding which incense(s) is burned on any given day of the liturgical year?
When censing at home, how important is it to strictly reflect the custom of your church on a day-to-day basis?
Incense and the liturgical calendar
Incense and the liturgical calendar
Ephraem
~He who seeth his own sins, seeth not the sins of others.
I don't know if this will be of any use, but here goes...
I have never heard about any connection between the use of incence and the calender. As far as I know, it really is just a matter of taste...or would that be smell. One of the deacons in town said he would save a particularly nice smelling incence for certain more solemn parts of the liturgy like the Great Entrance.
As far as home use goes, I was told to just go around to all the icons with the cencer and make the sign of the cross in front of each one. I do say the 50th Psalm while cencing the icons like when the deacons cence the church (of course this implies I'm actually saying my prayes and not sluffing them off).
Christ is Risen!
Truly He is Risen!
Exactly...personal preference prevails...I tend to use more "floral" scents in the summer (rose,etc), use frankincense during the Nativity Fast and through Theophany, and then use some of the scents I prefer (Spikenard, etc) for special Feast Days.
I will add that other than the 50th Psalm, you may choose to say the hymns of the saints before individual icons (some of mine are not on what I laughingly will call my icon "corner" [read, wall], such as St. Euphrosynos the Cook, which hangs in my kitchen, and then reserve the Psalm for the "main" bunch of icons...although my own custom is not to do this as I will then begin morning or evening prayers, and so I end up in front of main icon "corner" with censer and begin.
Personal taste dictates.
Vicki