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The Double Ninth Festival
2007-10-18 16:23  www.estudychinese.com


The 9th day of the 9th lunar month is the traditional Chongyang Festival, or the Double Ninth Festival. In an ancient and mysterious book Yi Jing, or The Book of Changes, number "6" was thought to be of Yin character while number "9" was thought to be Yang, so the number nine in both month and day create the Double Ninth Festival, or Chongyang Festival. The Chinese ancestors considered it an auspicious day worth celebration. That's why ancient Chinese began to celebrate this festival long time ago.

The custom of ascending a height to avoid epidemics was passed down from long time ago. Therefore, the Double Ninth Festival is also called "Height Ascending Festival". The height people will reach is usually a mountain or a tower. Ancient literary figures have left many poems depicting the activity.

On this day, people will eat Double Ninth Gao (or Cake). In Chinese, gao (cake) has the same pronunciation with gao (height). People do so just to hope progress in everything they are engaged in. There is no fixed ways for the Double Ninth Cake, but super cakes will have as many as nine layers, looking like a tower.

The Double Ninth Festival is also a time when chrysanthemum blooms，so enjoying the flourishing chrysanthemum also becomes a key activity on this festival. Also, people will drink chrysanthemum wine. Women used to stick such a flower into their hair or hang its branches on windows or doors to avoid evilness.

In 1989, the Chinese government decided the Double Ninth Festival as Seniors' Day. Since then, all government units, organizations and streets communities will organize an autumn trip each year for those who have retired from their posts. Younger generations will bring elder ones to suburban areas or send gifts to them on this day.




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