The 9th day of the 9th lunar month is the traditional Chongyang Festival, or Double Ninth Festival, which falls on Oct 23 this year.
In an ancient and mysterious book Yi Jing, or The Book of Changes, number "6" was thought to be a Yin character, meaning feminine or negative, while number "9" was thought to be Yang, meaning masculine or positive. Therefore, the number nine in both month and day create the Double Ninth Festival, or Chongyang Festival. Chong in Chinese means "double." Also, as double ninth was pronounced the same as the word to signify "forever", both are "Jiu Jiu", Chinese ancestors considered it an auspicious day worth celebration. That's why ancient Chinese began to celebrate this festival long ago.
Here are 6 things you may not know about Double Ninth Festival:
- Wearing cornel twigs (Dogwood) - The cornel can expel insects, get rid of the humidity, help digestion and cure inner heat.
- Enjoying chrysanthemum flowers - Though its florescence lasts long, this perennial herb usually begins to bloom in the 9th lunar month, lending a festive flavor to the Double Ninth Day. That's why the month is also referred to as "the month of chrysanthemum".
- Eating Double Ninth cake - It is said that the cake was originally prepared after autumn harvests for farmers to have a taste of what was just in season, and it gradually became the cake for people to eat on the Double Ninth Day.
- Chrysanthemum flower wine - The wine is said to have wholesome effects on sharpness of the eye, alleviation of headache, drop of hypertension, reduction of weight and removal of stomach trouble, thus contributing to longevity.
- Climbing heights - The 9th lunar month, with clear autumn skies and bracing air, is a good time for sightseeing.
- Family get-togethers - It is an occasion to remember one's ancestors, the sacrifices they made and the hardships they underwent. People often gather for parties, enjoy chrysanthemums and pin cornel twigs on clothes. The customs of climbing mountains and eating a special cake is also featured this day.
Chongyang Jie 重陽節
Held on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month, Double Ninth Festival is also called Chongyang Festival. In Chinese, nine is regarded as the number of Yang (which means masculine as opposed to Yin which is feminine). The ninth day of the ninth month is the day that has two Yang numbers, and 'chong' in Chinese means double which is how the name Chongyang was created. It is a day for people to eat Chongyang cake, drink chrysanthemum wine, climb mountains, and pay homage to chrysanthemums.
Festival Legend - Just as other Chinese festivals have their own unique story, so does the Double Ninth Festival. It is said that, during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 - 220), a devil inhabited the Nu River which caused disease in the neighbouring people. The parent of a young man, named Hengjing, died because of the devil's magic. In order to rid the people of the devil, Hengjing went through extraordinary lengths to find an immortal to teach him swordsmanship in order to expel the devil.
On the eighth day of the ninth lunar month, the immortal told Hengjing that the next day the devil would appear and he was to go back to get rid of the devil and the disease. Taking a bag of dogwood and some chrysanthemum wine, Hengjing returned to his hometown. In the morning of the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Hengjing led all the villagers who were each holding a piece of dogwood leaf and a cup of Chrysanthemum to the nearest mountain. At noon, when the devil came out from the Nu River, the devil suddenly stopped because of the fragrance emitted from the dogwood and the chrysanthemum wine. At that moment Hengjing used the sword to battle the devil for a few rounds and won. Since then the custom of climbing mountains, drinking chrysanthemum wine and holding onto dogwood on the ninth day of the ninth month have become popular.
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Chongyang Jie 重陽節
The Double Ninth festival is a great reminder of the importance of disaster preparedness
The Chongyang Festival—also known as Double Ninth Festival—takes place on the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar, and this year falls on 5 Oct.
It’s a time when families gather to hike up hills and look at chrysanthemums—recreational activities that evolved from legends about dodging misfortune that date back 2,000 years, to the Eastern Han period.
The festival is celebrated in many parts of Asia—in Hong Kong it’s known as Cheung Yeung, while Japan’s version is known as Choyo, and the double-nine date is marked according to the Gregorian calendar. There are two major origin stories for the Chongyang Festival, both of them are centered around a common theme—how to avoid disaster and prolong your life with proper preparation.
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