Double Ninth Festival is a traditional festival in China, which is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month every year. In ancient times, there were folk customs such as climbing mountains to pray for blessings, enjoying chrysanthemums in autumn, wearing dogwood, drinking alcohol to worship ancestors and praying for longevity. So far, it has added the connotation of respecting the elderly, feasting on the day of Chongyang, and being grateful for respecting the elderly. Climbing mountains and enjoying autumn and giving thanks and respecting the elderly are two important themes of today's Double Ninth Festival.
The Origin and Historical Evolution of Double Ninth Festival
The Double Ninth Festival has a history of more than two thousand years. Because the ancient Book of Changes defined "six" as the yin number and "nine" as the yang number, on September 9, the sun and the moon combined with yang, and 29 was the most important, so it was named "Chongyang", also called "Double Ninth".
The ancients thought it was an auspicious day to celebrate, and they began to celebrate this festival from a very young age.
The Double Ninth Festival can be pushed to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period at the earliest. During the Warring States period, Chongyang was paid attention to by people, but it was only an activity in the palace.
In the Han Dynasty, the custom of celebrating the Double Ninth Festival gradually became popular. According to legend, Lady Qi, the concubine of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, was murdered, and Jia Shi, the maid before her, was expelled from the palace and married the poor. Jia brought the activities of Chongyang to the people. Jia told people: in the palace, on the ninth day of September every year, we should wear dogwood, eat tent bait and drink chrysanthemum wine in order to live longer. Since then, the custom of Chongyang has spread among the people.
The name of "Double Ninth Festival" was recorded in the Three Kingdoms period. According to Cao Pi's "Nine Days and Zhong You Book", it says: "From year to month, September 9 suddenly comes again. Nine is the number of yang, and the sun and the moon coincide. It is well known and considered suitable for a long time, so it is a feast. "
Tao Yuanming, a scholar in the Jin Dynasty, said in the preface to the poem "Idle for Nine Days": "Love the name of nine when you are idle. Autumn chrysanthemums are full of gardens, but they are sad, empty for Jiuhua, and precious words are like gold. " Chrysanthemum and wine are mentioned here at the same time. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there was a custom of enjoying chrysanthemums and drinking alcohol.
In the Tang Dynasty, the Double Ninth Festival was designated as an official festival. From then on, the court and the people celebrated the Double Ninth Festival together, and various activities were carried out during the festival.
In the Song Dynasty, the Double Ninth Festival was more lively. Dream of China in Tokyo recorded the grand occasion of the Double Ninth Festival in the Northern Song Dynasty. Legend of Wulin also records that the court in the Southern Song Dynasty "rearranged nine soldiers on the eighth day of the eighth lunar month" for the next day's entertainment.
In the Ming dynasty, the eunuchs and concubines in the palace began to eat flower cakes together to celebrate from the first day of junior high school. On the ninth Double Ninth Festival, the emperor will personally climb the Long Live Mountain to watch the victory, so as to celebrate his autumn ambition.
In the Qing Dynasty, the customs of the Ming Dynasty still prevailed.
Since the 1980s, some places in China have designated September 9th in the summer calendar as the festival for the elderly, advocating the whole society to establish the atmosphere of respecting, loving and helping the elderly. 1989, the China municipal government designated the ninth day of the ninth lunar month as "Day for the Elderly" and "Day for Respecting the Elderly".
20 12 February 28th 12 The law makes it clear that the ninth day of the ninth lunar month is the festival for the elderly.
Traditional customs of Double Ninth Festival
Gordon Chongyang 1
There is a custom of climbing mountains on the Double Ninth Festival. Autumn is coming, cold air is heading south, rain is decreasing, and the weather is fine. In September and autumn, the air is crisp and the temperature is neither too cold nor too hot, which is just suitable for traveling. Climbing high and looking far in this season can achieve the purpose of strengthening the body and eliminating all diseases. The ancients had the custom of climbing mountains on the Double Ninth Festival for a long time. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, Wang Wei wrote in "Mountain Holiday Thinking of Shandong Brothers": Being in a foreign land, I miss my relatives twice every festive season. When I think of my brothers' bodies climbing high, I will feel a little regret for not being able to reach me. There is also a saying in Nanjing, "Come to Niutou in spring, Qixia in Qiu Lai", which means to go hiking in Niushou Mountain in spring and climb Qixia Mountain in autumn.
Step 2 eat Chongyang cake
Chongyang cake, also known as "flower cake", "chrysanthemum cake" and "hair cake", is a traditional food for the Double Ninth Festival. Five-color Caiqi Yang is inserted in the cake, and two sheep are printed on the cake, which means "Double Ninth Festival". Some places put a cake on the child's forehead at dawn on September 9, and said something in his mouth, wishing the child all the best. In other places, cakes are given as birthday gifts, which also means longevity and promotion step by step.
3. Daughter's Day
In some places, the Double Ninth Festival is also called Daughter's Day. On this day, the married daughter will go back to her mother's house to eat flower cakes, and her mother's house will also send cakes to her daughter and grandson, which means that she will be promoted step by step. In addition to eating Chongyang cake, some areas also eat mutton noodles. The homonym of "sheep" and "yang" should be the allusion of the Double Ninth Festival. Mutton is warm, invigorating qi and tonifying deficiency, and it can be eaten in autumn, and it also has the effect of preventing cold and tonifying deficiency.
Step 4 enjoy chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemum is a famous flower in China. It is plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, and it is one of the four gentlemen in flowers. Because chrysanthemum has a noble and simple character, it is a famous sentence of Tao Yuanming in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, "Pick chrysanthemums under the hedge and see Nanshan leisurely." Meng Haoran also wrote in the Tang Dynasty: "I'll come back after Shan Ye holiday and chrysanthemum season."
Step 5 drink chrysanthemum wine
In ancient times, chrysanthemum wine was specially brewed for the Double Ninth Festival in the first year. On September 9th, pick fresh chrysanthemums and a little green branches and leaves, mix them with the grain to be brewed, and then use them together to make wine, and drink them on September 9th of the following year. It is said that drinking this wine can prolong life. This is a festive season, autumn is crisp, chrysanthemums are in full bloom, and the windows are golden. In addition to climbing the mountain and inserting dogwood, relatives and friends also invited each other to drink chrysanthemum wine and enjoy chrysanthemums. They really had a good time. Poets, in particular, admire chrysanthemums, drink wine and recite poems as a reward, leaving many good sentences for future generations. Chrysanthemum contains health ingredients. Drinking chrysanthemum wine on the Double Ninth Festival is a traditional custom in China. Chrysanthemum wine, in ancient times, was regarded as "auspicious wine" that must be drunk on the Double Ninth Festival to pray for good luck and eliminate disasters.
6. Pei dogwood chrysanthemum
The custom of worshipping dogwood on the Double Ninth Festival was very popular in the Tang Dynasty. People think that inserting dogwood in the Double Ninth Festival can take refuge and eliminate disasters. Or wear it on your arm, or make it into a sachet, and put Cornus officinalis in it, which is called a Cornus officinalis sachet. Besides wearing dogwood, women also have the custom of wearing chrysanthemums on their heads. This happened in the Tang Dynasty and has been popular since ancient times. In ancient times, there was a custom of inserting dogwood in Double Ninth Festival, so it was also called dogwood Festival. As a medicine, Cornus officinalis can make wine, strengthen the body and get rid of diseases. Evodia rutaecarpa and chrysanthemum were very common in the Tang Dynasty. Cornus officinalis has a strong aroma, and has the functions of expelling parasites, removing dampness, expelling wind, promoting digestion and resolving food stagnation, and treating cold and heat. Therefore, people like to wear dogwood on the Double Ninth Festival to ward off evil spirits and seek good luck.
7. Recreation and sports activities
In ancient times, some nomadic people continued hunting, archery and horse racing on the Double Ninth Festival. Because it is windy in autumn, flying kites is also an important activity of the Double Ninth Festival, and the significance of flying kites is also to ward off evil spirits and drive away epidemics.