Why can't we burn only one stick of incense stick when burning two short incense sticks and one long incense stick?

The custom of burning incense and worshiping Buddha has a very long history in our country, and there are many different opinions among the people about burning incense. So what is the meaning of burning two short and one long incense sticks? Why can’t you light a stick of incense?

The saying of burning two short incense sticks and one long incense stick

Burning incense with two short and one long is unlucky;
The ancients had an incense chart when burning incense. If "two short and one long" appeared when burning incense, that is, the same three incense sticks had two very short and one very long during the burning process, this represented incompleteness and was a bad sign, foreshadowing that a disaster would occur. The ancients most did not want to see such a situation, so there was a saying that "incense should not be two short and one long".

Why can't I light a stick of incense?

Because the first of the three incense sticks is for worshiping heaven (the most important one).
1. The first stick of incense is to pray to God for peace and prosperity in the country, good weather and good harvests. The second stick of incense is to worship the earth, asking for blessings from the earth, good harvests, surpluses every year and a prosperous life. The third stick of incense is to honor the ancestors, thanking them for the beautiful traditions and fine virtues left behind.
2. Man is the spirit of all things. Only by following the will of heaven and earth and the natural flow can he become divine in heaven and holy on earth. The ancients believed that three was a general number: one gave birth to two, two gave birth to three, and three gave birth to all things, so when burning incense, people usually only burned three sticks.
3. Therefore, three incense sticks are auspicious incense, which carry people’s good hopes and wishes, and include people’s pursuit and expectation for a better life. Therefore, people usually do not light only one incense stick. In life, we should pay attention to the fact that this number actually has no scientific reason, but there are requirements for the number in traditional culture.