1. The Double Ninth Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar.
The Double Ninth Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. The Double Ninth Festival coincides with the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, which is called "Double Ninth Festival". On this day, people have to climb mountains. custom, so the Double Ninth Festival is also called the "Climbing Festival". There are also sayings such as Chongjiu Festival, Dogwood Festival, and Chrysanthemum Festival. Since "Jiujiu" (九九), the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, is homophonic to "jiujiu", which means long-lasting, ancestor worship and elder-respecting activities are often held on this day.
The Double Ninth Festival, together with the Chu, Qing and Yu festivals, are also the four major festivals for worshiping ancestors in traditional Chinese festivals. On December 28, 2012, the law clarified that the ninth day of the ninth lunar month every year is the Senior Citizen’s Day.
2. Eating customs during the Double Ninth Festival:
1. Eating Double Ninth Cake
According to historical records, the ancients made sponge cakes in the days before and after the Double Ninth Festival. It is called Double Ninth Cake, also known as flower cake, chrysanthemum cake, and five-color cake. There is no set method for making it and it is relatively random. Glue some coriander leaves as a symbol, and sandwich rough dried fruits such as green fruits, dates, and walnut kernels in the middle; the fine flower cake has 3 or 2 layers, and each layer is sandwiched with finer candied dried fruits, such as preserved apples, Preserved peaches, apricots, black dates, etc.; Money Flower Cake is basically the same as Fine Flower Cake, but smaller, like "money", and is mostly the food of the upper-class nobles.
It is said that in the early days, dates, chestnuts and other fruits were not sandwiched between home-made dough cakes, or glutinous rice or yellow rice noodles were steamed into sticky cakes, which looked like flower cakes with "gold on top" and "silver on the bottom".
According to "Xijing Miscellaneous Notes", in the Han Dynasty, there was a custom of eating cakes on September 9th, which was the original Double Ninth Cake. Bait is an ancient cake. According to "Zhou Li", bait is used as a sacrifice or eaten at banquets. Millet cakes are also recorded in the Han Dynasty, which may be similar to today's cakes. Pengbait must be similar to millet cake. By the Song Dynasty, the custom of eating Double Ninth Cake became very popular. The word "cake" is a homophonic word for "gao". Eating cake is for the auspicious meaning, so it is favored by people.
2. Drink chrysanthemum wine
Chrysanthemum is a famous flower in my country and a famous longevity flower. "When the frost comes, only this grass flourishes." Due to the unique character of the chrysanthemum, the chrysanthemum has become a symbol of vitality.
As early as Qu Yuan's writings, there was a sentence of "eating autumn chrysanthemums in the evening", that is, taking chrysanthemum petals. Chrysanthemum wine has been around since the Han Dynasty. During the Wei Dynasty, Cao Wu once presented chrysanthemums to Zhong Cui on the Double Ninth Festival to wish him longevity. Ge Hong of the Jin Dynasty recorded in "Baopuzi" that people in the mountains of Nanyang, Henan, lived longer because they drank the sweet valley water full of chrysanthemums. In the "Chrysanthemum Picking Chapter" written by Emperor Wen of the Liang Dynasty, there is a sentence: "We call each other and carry baskets to pick chrysanthemum beads. When the dew comes in the morning, we will be wet with Luo Wu." This is also the practice of picking chrysanthemums to make wine. Until the Ming and Qing Dynasties, chrysanthemum wine was still popular. It was still recorded in Gao Lian's "Eight Notes of Zunsheng" in the Ming Dynasty. It was a popular fitness drink.
During the Double Ninth Festival, my country has the traditional custom of drinking chrysanthemum wine. Chrysanthemum wine was regarded as an "auspicious wine" that must be drunk during the Double Ninth Festival in ancient times to ward off disasters and pray for blessings.
3. Eating glutinous rice cakes
Eating glutinous rice cakes is another food custom during the Double Ninth Festival in southwest my country. There are two types of rice cakes: soft and sweet, hard and salty. The method is to put the washed glutinous rice into a pot of boiling water, fish it out as soon as it boils, steam it in a basket, mash it in a mortar, and knead it into a ball. When eating, fry the sesame seeds, mash them into fine powder, roll the glutinous rice balls into strips, break them into small pieces, and mix with sesame seeds, sugar, etc. Its taste is sweet and delicious, and it is called "soft glutinous rice rake" (best eaten warm). Hard glutinous rice rake, also known as "oil glutinous rice rake", is made by steaming the glutinous rice without mashing it, then putting it on the table and kneading it into a ball. After rolling it out, add some salt and pepper powder to make a "stuffing core", then roll it into strips and slice it. Then fry it in an oil pan until it becomes golden and beautiful, salty and crispy, and has an endless aftertaste.
4. Eating crabs
In some places in my country, there is a custom of eating crabs during the Double Ninth Festival. Just after the Mid-Autumn Festival, crabs in the north are at their peak. As the saying goes: "In the ninth month, the navel is pointed at the tenth point, and the crabs caught in the Double Ninth Festival are of the highest quality. They are very strong, fat and fat, and are famous all over the world."