Räucherkerzchen
Encyclopedia
Räucherkerzchen or Räucherkegel (literally "little smoking candles" or "smoking cones") are incense
candles burned at Christmas
time in Germany
in order to create pleasant scents around the house. But they were invented in India. Other countries reverse engineered it and started selling in their respective countries. Its called dhoop batti in India.
in Catholic liturgy
. According to tradition the manufacture of little candles in Crottendorf
in the Ore Mountains
was established by 1750. But it was not until the advent of modern Christmas customs in the middle of the 19th century and the manufacture of the first Räuchermännchen
that they spread beyond the Ore Mountains
.
tree, charcoal
, potato
flour, sandalwood
and beech
paste are the ingredients from which the small cones are made. These substances are ground together, stirred into a moist dough and then shaped. The incense candles are produced mainly in three locations in Saxony
: in Neudorf under the name of Huss-Original Neudorfer Räucherkerzen, in Crottendorf
as Original Crottendorfer Räucherkerzen and in Mohorn-Grund, a village in the borough of Wilsdruff
, as KNOX. Outside Saxony they are made in the Crottendorf-founded Carl Jaeger Räuchermittelfabrik in Höchst im Odenwald
and, since 1997, in Bockau
under the name Bockauer Räucherkerzen.
, pine
, honey
and cinnamon
, candles are also made with scents associated with other times of the year. There are also scents that are meant to keep insects away.
Incense
Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
candles burned at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
time in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in order to create pleasant scents around the house. But they were invented in India. Other countries reverse engineered it and started selling in their respective countries. Its called dhoop batti in India.
History
The emergence of Räucherkerzchen goes back to the use of frankincenseFrankincense
Frankincense, also called olibanum , is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra, B. carteri, B. thurifera, B. frereana, and B. bhaw-dajiana...
in Catholic liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
. According to tradition the manufacture of little candles in Crottendorf
Crottendorf
Crottendorf is a municipality in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany....
in the Ore Mountains
Ore Mountains
The Ore Mountains in Central Europe have formed a natural border between Saxony and Bohemia for many centuries. Today, the border between Germany and the Czech Republic runs just north of the main crest of the mountain range...
was established by 1750. But it was not until the advent of modern Christmas customs in the middle of the 19th century and the manufacture of the first Räuchermännchen
Räuchermann
thumb|Räuchermännchenthumb|150px|right|as hunter figurineThe Räuchermann , erzgebirgisch Raachermannel is an "incense smoker", the invention of toy makers in the Ore Mountains and used to burn down cone incense, known as Räucherkerzchen.The Räuchermann was first mentioned in 1830 and is nowadays a...
that they spread beyond the Ore Mountains
Ore Mountains
The Ore Mountains in Central Europe have formed a natural border between Saxony and Bohemia for many centuries. Today, the border between Germany and the Czech Republic runs just north of the main crest of the mountain range...
.
Materials and production
The resin of the FrankincenseFrankincense
Frankincense, also called olibanum , is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra, B. carteri, B. thurifera, B. frereana, and B. bhaw-dajiana...
tree, charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
, potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
flour, sandalwood
Sandalwood
Sandalwood is the name of a class of fragrant woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and unlike many other aromatic woods they retain their fragrance for decades. As well as using the harvested and cut wood in-situ, essential oils are also extracted...
and beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
paste are the ingredients from which the small cones are made. These substances are ground together, stirred into a moist dough and then shaped. The incense candles are produced mainly in three locations in Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
: in Neudorf under the name of Huss-Original Neudorfer Räucherkerzen, in Crottendorf
Crottendorf
Crottendorf is a municipality in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany....
as Original Crottendorfer Räucherkerzen and in Mohorn-Grund, a village in the borough of Wilsdruff
Wilsdruff
Wilsdruff is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, with 13,743 inhabitants. It is situated 14 km west of Dresden . Near Wilsdruff there is a facility for high power broadcasting, the transmitter Wilsdruff....
, as KNOX. Outside Saxony they are made in the Crottendorf-founded Carl Jaeger Räuchermittelfabrik in Höchst im Odenwald
Höchst im Odenwald
Höchst im Odenwald is a community in the Odenwaldkreis in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Höchst lies 25 km east of Darmstadt, in the northern Odenwald at elevations between 175 and 400 m....
and, since 1997, in Bockau
Bockau
Bockau is a community in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in the Free State of Saxony in Germany. The community is known for growing and researching herbs...
under the name Bockauer Räucherkerzen.
Scents
As well as candles with traditional "Christmas scents" like frankincenseFrankincense
Frankincense, also called olibanum , is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra, B. carteri, B. thurifera, B. frereana, and B. bhaw-dajiana...
, pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
, honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
and cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
, candles are also made with scents associated with other times of the year. There are also scents that are meant to keep insects away.