Incense "joss" is derived from the Latin "deus" (god) via the Portuguese "deos" through the Javanese "dejos", through Chinese pidgin English. The raw materials are powdered and then mixed together with a binder to form a paste, which, for direct burning incense, is then cut and dried into pellets. Incense of the Athonite Orthodox Christian tradition is made by powdering frankincense or fir resin, mixing it with essential oils. Floral fragrances are the most common, but citrus such as lemon is not uncommon. The incense mixture is then rolled out into a slab approximately 1 cm thick and left until the
Incense in China its nobility enjoying incense as a popular cultural pastime, to the extent of building rooms specifically for the use of incense ceremonies. Besides meaning "incense", the Chinese word "xiang" () also means "fragrance; scent; aroma; perfume; spice". The sinologist and historian Edward H. Schafer said that in medieval China: Words meaning "censer; incense burner" are compounds of "lu" ( or ) "brazier; stove; furnace", which was a category of ancient Chinese bronzes. "Xianglu" (香爐, with "incense") means "incense burner; censer" in general. "Xunlu" (熏爐, with "smoke; fumigate; cure (food) with smoke", or 薰爐, with "fragrance (of plants); an aromatic grass,