Chinese Traditional Festival | Double Ninth Festival

Carrying a wisp of autumn wind to sweep away the sorrows of autumn

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Looking at the Autumn Sky on the Double Ninth Sun

Golden Chrysanthemum and Red Leaves Dye Autumn Breeze

Chongyang Festival

The Double Ninth Festival refers to the ninth day of the ninth lunar month every year and is a traditional Chinese folk festival. In the Book of Changes, "nine" is designated as the yang number, and the two yang numbers of "nine nine" are mutually exclusive, hence the name "Chongyang"; Due to the fact that both the sun and the moon meet on the ninth day, it is also known as the "Double Ninth Festival".

On Traditional Chinese Studies

The ninth day of the ninth lunar month, commonly known as the Double Ninth Festival, is a traditional festival in China. It is also known as the "Elderly Day", "Double Ninth Festival", "Ascending Festival", "Sunshine Autumn Festival", "Treading Autumn Festival", and "Cornus Festival". The formation of the Double Ninth Festival can be traced back over two thousand years to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. During the Tang Dynasty, it was designated as an official festival. Since then, various activities were held by the court and the people on this day to celebrate the Double Ninth Festival together.

The custom of appreciating chrysanthemums has existed in the Chongyang calendar since ancient times, so it is also known as the Chrysanthemum Festival. In the ninth month of the lunar calendar, it is commonly known as the Chrysanthemum Moon. The festival is held with a large crowd of people attending and appreciating chrysanthemums. Since the Three Kingdoms, Wei, and Jin dynasties, it has become fashionable to gather in Chongyang for drinking, appreciating chrysanthemums, and composing poems. In ancient Han Chinese customs, chrysanthemums symbolize longevity.

Mythology and Legend

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, in a village by the Ru River, there lived a young man named Huan Jing. He has parents and wife in his family, and the whole family is in harmony and living a very happy life.

The weather is unpredictable. One year, a plague demon suddenly appeared in the Ru River, and many villages along the bank became plagued, resulting in many deaths. Seeing the villagers constantly dying, I was very anxious and decided to seek immortality and learn skills to eliminate harm for the people.

One day, Fei Changfang called Huan Jing to him and said, "On the ninth day of September this year, the plague demon will come out and harm people again. You should hurry back to your hometown to eliminate the harm for the people." He gave Huan Jing a bag of dogwood leaves and a bottle of chrysanthemum wine, and also instructed the villagers to climb high to avoid the disaster first, and then go to kill the demons and demons. He used his hand to summon a crane and carried Huan Jing back to his hometown.

On September 9th, Huan Jing led the whole village up a nearby mountain. He distributed the leaves of Cornus officinalis to everyone, so that the plague demon dared not approach. He also poured out chrysanthemum wine and asked everyone to take a sip. After the arrangements were made, he returned to the village with the Green Dragon Sword, waiting to kill the plague demon.

At noon, with a few strange cries, the plague demon climbed onto the riverbank and proudly entered the village. He found that there was no one in the village, so he looked around and finally found that the villagers were hiding on the mountain. He shouted wildly and rushed towards the mountain. Just as he arrived at the foot of the mountain, a strong aroma of dogwood leaves and chrysanthemum wine suddenly rushed towards him, causing the plague demon to feel dizzy and groan around in place. Huanjing rushed down the mountain with a sword in hand and engaged in a battle with the plague demon. The plague demon saw the situation and turned around to flee. Huan Jing aimed his sword at his back and swung it out, killing him with a whoosh.

From then on, there will be no more plagues on both sides of the Ru River. This day is the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. Afterwards, on this day every year, people held activities such as climbing high, planting dogwood, and drinking chrysanthemum wine to commemorate Huan Jing's eradication of plague and evil spirits, and the eradication of pests for the people.

Festival customs

Inserting Cornus officinalis

In ancient times, there was a custom of planting cornus on September 9th, so the Double Ninth Festival is also known as the Cornus Festival. The aroma of Cornus officinalis is rich, with the functions of dispelling insects and dampness, removing wind and evil, as well as dispelling accumulated food and treating cold and heat. It can be used as medicine or as a wine for health preservation and disease control. So on the Double Ninth Festival, people have the custom of wearing or inserting cornus when climbing high and looking far. They can also give cornus as a gift to relatives and friends in order to ward off evil and seek good luck, and prolong life.

Climb high and look far

On the Double Ninth Festival, there is a common custom among the people that people should go out on this day to climb high and look far. There are two theories about its origin.

1. In ancient times, people worshipped the mountain god and believed that "when the sun rises in the ninth month, the anode will change." Therefore, on the ninth day of the ninth month, they went to the mountain to climb high and observe the distance, worship the mountain god for good luck, and gradually evolved into a form of entertainment.

During the Double Ninth Festival, the busy farming season and autumn harvest have mostly ended. At this time, the people are relatively relaxed, and the wild fruits and medicinal herbs in the mountains are also in the mature season. Therefore, people will go to the mountains to collect wild fruits, medicinal herbs, and so on at this time. Later, they gradually concentrated their activities on the Double Ninth Day, which evolved into the custom of climbing high and looking far on the Double Ninth Festival.

Eating Chongyang Cake

Double Ninth Festival cake, also known as flower cake, chrysanthemum cake, and five color cake, is a representative food of the Double Ninth Festival on September 9th. As a holiday food, it was originally intended to celebrate a bountiful grain harvest and enjoy tasting new grains. Because 'gao' and 'gao' have a homophonic sound, with the auspicious meaning of climbing high step by step, it was later that the custom of eating gao on the Double Ninth Festival emerged.

Drinking chrysanthemum wine

Chrysanthemum wine is refreshing and sweet, with the effects of brightening the eyes, tonifying liver qi, calming the intestines and stomach, promoting blood circulation, treating dizziness, lowering blood pressure, and reducing weight. It is a good product for strengthening the body and prolonging life. Drinking chrysanthemum wine has been popular since the Han and Wei dynasties. In Chinese folklore, people collect the stems and leaves of chrysanthemums when they are in full bloom, mix them with grains to make wine, and wait until September 9th of the following year to drink.

In September, when the golden autumn breeze blows, the fragrance of osmanthus wafts in my heart. On the Double Ninth Festival, I admire the chrysanthemums and climb high places. When I am filled with cornus and reminiscing about my friends, my blessings come as scheduled.

In some parts of China, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month in the summer calendar is designated as Elderly People's Day, advocating the establishment of a culture of respecting, respecting, loving, and helping the elderly throughout society. On the Double Ninth Festival, we yearn for our hometown by drinking together and asking the sky about our wine.