What are the customs of the Double Ninth Festival?

The Double Ninth Festival is one of the traditional festivals in China. On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month every year, people will climb the mountain to enjoy chrysanthemums and drink chrysanthemum wine, so we often call it: Chrysanthemum Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Ascending Festival and so on. The Double Ninth Festival began in ancient times, took shape in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, spread in the Western Han Dynasty, and flourished after the Tang Dynasty.

The customs of the Double Ninth Festival include: climbing mountains, enjoying autumn, enjoying chrysanthemums, admiring cornus, flying kites, eating double ninth cake, drinking chrysanthemum wine, giving thanks and respecting the elderly, etc. In my opinion, among the numerous customs of the Double Ninth Festival, there are five that are most worth mentioning. Let's take a look with me.

? One of the customs of the Double Ninth Festival: flying paper kites?

Flying kites is one of the main customs of celebrating the Double Ninth Festival in the south. The folk Double Ninth Festival is characterized by flying paper kites. Guangxu's Huizhou Fuzhi is also recorded. In the folk tradition, besides climbing mountains, flying kites is also a feature of the Double Ninth Festival. As for why people fly paper kites (kites) on the Double Ninth Festival, apart from the climatic reasons that the sky is high and the clouds are light, the wind is light and the day is bright, and the paper kites can easily ride the wind, there are also some sayings that are between witches and wizards, which are quite interesting without thinking.

According to legend, flying a kite on the Double Ninth Festival is to "let off bad luck". The higher and farther the kite flies, the more bad luck it flies away. What's more, it is necessary to specially break the string to make the kite disappear outside Yu Yuntian. Another explanation is that flying a kite in Chongyang is "auspicious" and "lucky". The better the kite flies, the more blessed it will be. Not only can the kite-flying person not break the silk thread, but he must do everything possible to protect it, because if the silk thread breaks, the "auspicious" and "lucky" will also drift away.

? The second custom of the Double Ninth Festival: Climbing?

In ancient times, people had the custom of climbing mountains in Chongyang, so the Double Ninth Festival was also called "Climbing the Mountain Festival". According to legend, this custom began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. There are many climbing poems written by scholars in the Tang Dynasty, most of which are about the custom of writing the Double Ninth Festival: Du Fu's Ten Laws "Climbing the Mountain" is a famous article about climbing the Chongyang Mountain. There is no uniform rule except climbing the mountain and climbing the tower. Many people will choose to climb mountains on the Double Ninth Festival, so it is also called "Climbing Festival". There is no uniform rule for climbing, but generally climbing mountains and towers. Especially on a special day, it is even more enjoyable, which is the climbing festival of the Double Ninth Festival.

The ancient people climbed mountains from a legend in the Han Dynasty. It is said that Fei Changfang, a fairy of the later Han Dynasty, said to his disciple Huan Jing one day, "On September 9th, your family will have a disaster. If you bring the whole family, everyone will hold cornus in red bags, hang it on their arms, and drink chrysanthemum wine when climbing mountains, and you can avoid the disaster." Huan Jing took the whole family to the mountain to play on September 9, as the master said. When he came home in the evening, he saw that all the poultry and livestock in his family died suddenly, and he knew that what the master said was true and that he and his family had escaped. Later generations passed it down from generation to generation, and regarded September 9 as a time for climbing mountains to avoid disasters and drinking and gathering, and then it gradually became a custom.

The climbing of Chongyang originated from the worship of mountain gods in ancient times. Believing in mountain gods can save people from disasters. The ancients thought that "nine is Lao Yang, and the anode will change", and on September 9th, the number of Lao Yang was both month and day, which was unlucky. Therefore, people must go to the mountains on the Double Ninth Festival to avoid disaster. At first, people had to worship mountain gods for peace and good luck, and later it gradually evolved into a custom activity.

? The third custom of the Double Ninth Festival: enjoy chrysanthemums and drink chrysanthemum wine?

The Double Ninth Festival is the golden autumn season of the year, and chrysanthemums are in full bloom. It is said that the custom of enjoying chrysanthemums and drinking chrysanthemum wine originated from Tao Yuanming, a great poet in the Jin Dynasty. Tao Yuanming is famous for his seclusion, his poetry, his wine and his love for chrysanthemums: later generations will learn from it, so there is a custom of appreciating chrysanthemums on Chongyang. In the old days, ten literati doctors also combined chrysanthemum appreciation with banquets in order to get closer to Tao Yuanming.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, when Kaifeng was the capital city, chrysanthemum appreciation on Chongyang was popular. At that time, there were many varieties of chrysanthemums in various forms. People also call September of the lunar calendar "Chrysanthemum Moon". In the Double Ninth Festival, where chrysanthemums are in full bloom in Ao Shuang, viewing chrysanthemums has become an important part of the festival. After the Qing Dynasty, Chang Ju's practice was particularly prosperous, and his eyes were not limited to September 9th. But it is still the most prosperous around the Double Ninth Festival.

? The fourth custom of Double Ninth Festival: Pei cornus?

In ancient times, the custom of inserting Zhu Huang in Jiujiu was also popular, so it was also called Zhu Huang Festival. Juhuang, as a medicine, can make wine to keep fit and get rid of diseases. It has been very common in the Tang Dynasty to insert yellow flowers and chrysanthemum flowers. Cornus has a strong fragrance, which has the functions of expelling insects and dampness, expelling pathogenic wind, eliminating food stagnation and treating cold and heat. People think that September 9 is also a day of disaster, so people like to wear Zhu Huang to ward off evil spirits and seek good luck on the Double Ninth Festival. Therefore, Zhu Huang is also called "evil spirits".

the ninth day of the ninth lunar month has the auspicious meaning of "being suitable for a long time". At the end of the Han Dynasty, Cao Pi said in the Book of September and Zhong You: "The new year comes to the month, and then it suddenly comes to September 9th. Nine is the number of yang, and the sun and the moon should be in harmony. It is a vulgar name, so it is appropriate and long-lasting, so it is necessary to enjoy the banquet (that is, the climbing meeting). " Therefore, it has gradually become a folk custom for women to tie cornus's bag on their arms.

? The fifth custom of the Double Ninth Festival: basking in autumn?

"Sunbathing in autumn" is a typical agricultural custom phenomenon with strong regional characteristics. In some places, the annual Chung Yeung Festival has also begun to enter the autumn drying season, and a grand autumn drying festival has been held.

The Double Ninth Festival is the best time to enjoy autumn, and some mountain villages in the south of China have retained the characteristics of "basking in autumn". "Sunbathing in autumn" is a typical agricultural custom phenomenon. Villagers in mountainous areas have to use the roofs in front of and behind their houses and their windowsills to rack and hang crops because of the complex terrain and little flat land in their villages.

For people living in mountainous areas, the terrain here is very complicated. Even in villages where people live, there is very little flat land. If you dry crops, you can only make full use of the front and back of the house, or the windowsill and roof of your home. After a long time, it naturally forms a very traditional agricultural custom phenomenon. Generally speaking, the double ninth festival refers to the villagers drying crops, which is a special life scene and way. Later, under the works of photographers and painters, sunbathing in autumn became a rich source of their materials, and they also called this agricultural custom poetic, that is, sunbathing in autumn.

However, it needs to be reminded that the sun-dried autumn refers not to autumn, but to harvested fruits and crops. In fact, the traditional agricultural custom of sun-drying is not only in autumn, but also exists all year round. It's just that autumn is a harvest season, and there are more kinds of crops, and the scope and scale of sun-drying in autumn are more abundant and huge, so it attracts people's attention more.

In the historical development and evolution, the Double Ninth Festival is a mixture of various folk customs and carries rich cultural connotations. In the folk concept, "nine" is the largest number in numbers, which has the meaning of long life and is entrusted with people's wishes for the health and longevity of the elderly.