The Double Ninth Festival originated from the worship of astronomical phenomena, which began in ancient times, spread in the Western Han Dynasty and flourished after the Tang Dynasty. According to the existing historical data and textual research, in ancient times, there were activities of offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors in the autumn and the season; According to Lu's "Spring and Autumn Annals", when the crops were harvested in September, the ancients offered sacrifices to the heavenly emperor and ancestors to thank them for their kindness. This is the original form of the Double Ninth Festival as an autumn harvest sacrifice activity. The Tang Dynasty is an important period when traditional festival customs are mixed and shaped, and its main part has been passed down to this day. Chongyang ancestor worship has lasted for thousands of years and is an ancient folk custom with far-reaching significance. Double Ninth Festival, New Year's Eve, Tomb-Sweeping Day and July 30th are also called the four traditional ancestral festivals in China. [4][5][6][7][8]
In the historical development and evolution, the Double Ninth Festival is a mixture of various folk customs, bearing rich cultural connotations. In the folk concept, "nine" is the largest number, which means longevity, and it places people's wishes for the health and longevity of the elderly. On May 20th, 2006, the Double Ninth Festival was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage in the State Council. [ 1][9][ 10]
The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly, revised and passed by the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) on 20 12, stipulates that the ninth day of the ninth lunar month is the Day for the Elderly.
origin
Harvest sacrifices for heaven.
The origin of the Double Ninth Festival can be traced back to ancient times. According to legend, Chongyang is the day of enlightenment in Yuan Di. The existing written records about the activities of the Double Ninth Festival can be found in Lu Chunqiu Qiu Ji Ji: "In September, order the family to slaughter, prepare for farming, and introduce five essentials. The Tibetan emperor's book is collected in the holy warehouse, and it is only respectful. It's the day, great emperor, and I'll taste the sacrifice and tell the son of heaven. " It can be seen that there was an activity of offering sacrifices to God and ancestors at the autumn harvest in September to thank them for their kindness. This is the primitive form of the ancient Double Ninth Festival as a sacrificial activity. At the same time, there are large-scale catering activities, which developed from the banquet to celebrate the harvest in the pre-Qin period. Worship of gods and ancestors, longevity, banquets, etc. , which constitutes the basic content of the Double Ninth Festival. [4] [20] [2 1]
Double Ninth Festival
Sacrifice to "Fire" (Antares)
One of the prototypes of the Double Ninth Festival is the ancient ritual of offering sacrifices to "fire". "Fire" (Antares) is the time coordinate used by the ancients to determine the symbol of seasonal production and seasonal life. In ancient times, according to the orbit and position of the sun, the moon and the stars, people divided the stars near the ecliptic into 28 groups, commonly known as "twenty-eight hostages". In the East, horns, horns, houses, hearts, tails and dustpans form a complete dragon-shaped star (Seven Nights of the Black Dragon). At the beginning of spring ploughing, the seven nights in Black Dragon began to rise slowly in the eastern night sky, and the bright faucet, the horn beam, was first exposed; In summer, crops grow and the black dragon hangs high in the southern night sky for seven nights; In autumn, the crops are bumper, and the black dragon begins to retreat to the west in seven nights; Everything is hidden in winter, while Seven Nights of the Black Dragon is hidden under the northern horizon. In autumn and season, fire (Antares) retreats, and the dormancy of Vulcan means the arrival of a long winter. Therefore, in autumn and the season when the fire recedes, people should hold corresponding farewell ceremonies. With the development of society, people have a new understanding of the seasons, and the ritual of offering sacrifices to Vulcan in September gradually declined. Although the situation of ancient sacrificial ceremonies is unknown, we can still find some traces of ancient customs from the custom of offering sacrifices to stoves in Chongyang (home Vulcan) in some places in the south of the Yangtze River. [ 13] [4]
According to the order of the twelve earthly branches, the main branch was generally used in the ancient times, and the shade was built in the first month, and the fire warehouse was in September, and the fire entered the warehouse. Northwest of the throne belongs to Luoshu Ganbu. The "fire" of the full moon in Qiu Qiu (Antares) retreated into the ground with several stars in front of the black dragon star in the northwest. "The Book of Changes, Gangua": With nine, what you see is leaderless, which is auspicious. In traditional culture, the Autumn Double Ninth Festival and the "Fire" retired, and it was auspicious that Gan De was vigorous and Kun De was soft.