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Double Ninth Festival Celebrated:20th Oct.2015

The Double Ninth Festival, Chong Yang Jie(重陽節), is a celebration held on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month.

This is one of the traditional festivals in China which can be dated back to the Han Dynasty. As the 九九 (the ninth day of the ninth lunar month) has the same pronunciation of 久久（long life）the number 9 also has a meaning of Longevity in Chinese, the Chong yang Festival means a lot to Chinese people. We engage in different activities to celebrate Double Ninth Festival, including activities of playing outside,climbing mountains,enjoying chrysanthemum flowers,wearing dogwood, planting cornel,eating Chong Yang pastry and drinking chrysanthemum wine, etc.

Origin

The festival is based on the theory of Yin and Yang, the two opposing principles in nature. Yin is feminine, negative principle, while Yang is masculine and positive. In ancient times people believed that all natural phenomena could be explained by this theory. Numbers were also related to this theory. Even numbers belonged to Yin and odd numbers to Yang. The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is a day when the two Yang numbers meet. So it is called Chong Yang. Chong means double in Chinese. Chong Yanghas been an important festival since ancient times.

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Legend

It is hard to say when these customs were created. But there are many stories which are closely related. As recorded in a historical book of the sixth century, in ancient times, there lived a man named Huan Jing. He was learning the magic arts from Fei Changfang, who had become an immortal after many years of practicing Taoism. One day, the two were climbing a mountain. Fei Changfang suddenly stopped and looked very upset. He told Huan Jing, On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, disaster will come to your hometown. You must go home immediately. Remember to make a red bag for each one of your family members and put a spray of dogwood on every one. Then you must all tie your bags to your arms, leave home quickly and climb to the top of a mountain. Most importantly, you must all drink some chrysanthemum wine. Only by doing so can your family members avoid this disaster. On hearing this, Huan Jing rushed home and asked his family to do exactly as his teacher said. The whole family climbed a nearby mountain and did not return until the evening. When they got back home, they found all their animals dead, including chickens, sheep, dogs and even the ox. Later Huan Jing told Fei Changfang about this. Fei said the poultry and livestock died in place of Huan Jing's family, who escaped disaster by following his instructions. Since then, climbing a mountain, carrying a spray of dogwood and drinking chrysanthemum wine became the traditional activities of the Double Ninth Festival, to avoid evil spirits and misfortunes.

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What are special foods for Double Ninth Festival? On Double Ninth Festival, people would like to drink chrysanthemum wine and have chrysanthemum cakes. The chrysanthemum is a plant often used as a Chinese herbal medicine. People in ancient times believed that chrysanthemum could drive away evil spirits and prevent one from getting a chill in late autumn. Besides, the Chinese word for wine is Jiu, a homonym of the Chinese word for long, symbolizing longevity. Another special food for this festival is chrysanthemum cakes. The Chinese word for cake is Gao, a homonym of the Chinese word for high, symbolizing progress and promotion at work and in daily life and improvement in life year by year.Besides, the Chinese word for wine is Jiu, a homonym of the Chinese word for long, symbolizing longevity. Another special food for this festival is chrysanthemum cakes. The Chinese word for cake is Gao, a homonym of the Chinese word for high, symbolizing progress and promotion at work and in daily life and improvement in life year by year.

What is about a Festival of Respect?

In 1989, the Chinese government decided the Double Ninth Festival as Seniors' Day. At the waterside or on the mountains, the seniors will find themselves merged into nature. In the tradition of respect for elders in China, the government calls on relevant department throughout the country to organize activities to help senior citizens. This includes offering financial aid to those with difficulties and care for those who have on children. During, the Double Ninth Festival Garden Gathering, people would gather in the Park of Eight Great Temples (Badachu) since 1988. Each year, it attracts more than 200,000 active elder participants with its entertainment and other activities, including free health care consultation offered to the elderly.