Double Ninth Festival: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:59, 22 October 2004

Revision as of 00:43, 20 November 2004

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'''Double Ninth Festival''' (重九) dated on the ninth day of the ninth month in [[Chinese calendar]], is a [[traditonal Chinese holidays]], mentioned in writing since before the [[East Han]] period.

According to the ''[[I Ching]]'', ''nine'' is a [[yang]] number, ninth day of the ninth lunar month or double nine, has too much yang and is thus a potentially dangerous date. Hence, the day is also called "Double [[Yang]] Festival" (重陽節). To protect against the danger, it is customary to climb a high mountain, drink [[chrysanthemum]] wine, and wear a plant named ''[[zhuyizhuyu]]'' (茱萸). Both chrysanthemum and ''zhuyizhuyu'' are considered to have cleansing qualities and are used to air out houses and cure illnesses.

Double Ninth may have started out as a day to drive away danger, but, like the [[Chinese New Year]], over time it became a day of celebration. Today it is an occasion for hiking and chrysanthemum appreciation. Stores sell rice cakes (糕 a homonym for ''height'' 高) inserted with mini colorful flags to represent ''zhuyizhuyu''. Most people drink chrysanthumum tea, a few old schools drink homemade chrysanthemum wine. School children learn poems about chrysanthemum, and many cities will host a chrysanthmum exhibit. Mountain climbing races are also popular, winners get to wear a wreath made of ''zhuyizhuyu''.

This is an often quoted poem about this holiday: