What is the Double Ninth Festival about?

The Double Ninth Festival, also known as the Double Ninth Festival and "Autumn Festival", is a traditional festival of the Han nationality. Celebrating the Double Ninth Festival generally includes activities such as traveling to enjoy the scenery, climbing high to overlook, viewing chrysanthemums, planting dogwood trees, eating Double Ninth cakes, and drinking chrysanthemum wine.

The ninth day of the ninth lunar month every year is also one of the four traditional ancestor worship festivals in China. The Double Ninth Festival was formed as early as the Warring States Period. It was officially designated as a folk festival in the Tang Dynasty and has been followed by all dynasties ever since. Both the Double Ninth Festival and the "Spring Outing" on the third day of March are full of family members. On the Double Ninth Festival, all relatives must climb up together to "avoid disasters."

In 2006, the Double Ninth Festival was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists by the State Council.

Origin of the Double Ninth Festival 1:

One of the prototypes of the Double Ninth Festival is the ancient ritual of sacrificing fire.

The "Big Fire" star, which is the symbol of the ancient seasonal constellations, retreated in the ninth month of the autumn season. "Xia Xiaozheng" called it "September Fire". The ancients who marked seasonal production and seasonal life lost the coordinates of time. At the same time, the ancients who regarded fire as a god had inexplicable fear. The dormancy of the god of fire meant the arrival of the long winter. Therefore, during the "internal fire" season, a person Just as there is a fire ceremony when it appears, people must hold corresponding farewell ceremonies. Although the circumstances of ancient sacrificial rituals are elusive, some traces of ancient customs can still be found in the Double Ninth Festival rituals of later generations. For example, some areas in the south of the Yangtze River have the custom of worshiping stoves during the Double Ninth Festival, which is the god of fire at home. This shows the clues of ancient September sacrifices to "fire". The ancients always regarded Double Ninth Festival and Shangsi or Hanshi, September 9th and March 3rd as corresponding Spring and Autumn Festivals. "Miscellaneous Notes on Xijing" written by Liu Xin of the Han Dynasty said: "On the Shangsi Festival in March and the Double Ninth Festival in September, the maids played games to drive away the evil spirits and climb high." The correspondence between Shangsi, Hanshi and the Double Ninth Festival is based on the occurrence of "big fire".

With the advancement of people's livelihood technology, people have a new understanding of time, and the "fire calendar" gave way to the general calendar. The ritual of worshiping fire in September has declined, but people still have a special feeling for the natural changes in physical conditions caused by the decline of Yang Qi in September. Therefore, the ancient custom of climbing high and avoiding taboos is still spread throughout the city, although the world has new explanations.

The Double Ninth Festival has become a time landmark for the handover of summer and winter in people's lives. If Shangsi and Hanshi are Spring Festivals when people go out for a swim after spending the long winter, then Double Ninth Festival is about a ceremonial autumn outing when the autumn cold arrives and people are about to live in seclusion. green". The Double Ninth Festival customs revolve around people's feelings about this season.

Origin 2 of the Double Ninth Festival:

The origin of the Double Ninth Festival can be traced back to before the pre-Qin Dynasty. "Ji Qiu Ji" in "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" records: "(In September), order the family steward to prepare for the harvest, and give five important points. The imperial records are collected in the Shencang, and they must be respected and ordered." "This is the day. Also, the Great Food Emperor sacrificed something and reported it to the Emperor." It can be seen that at that time, there were activities to offer sacrifices to the Emperor of Heaven and ancestors during the harvest season in autumn and September to thank the Emperor of Heaven and ancestors for their kindness.

In the Han Dynasty, "Xijing Miscellaneous Notes" records that Jia Peilan, a palace official in the Western Han Dynasty, said: "On September 9th, wearing dogwood, eating bait, and drinking chrysanthemum wine will make people live longer." According to legend, from then on. Since then, there has been a custom of praying for longevity on the Double Ninth Festival. This was influenced by the ancient wizards (later Taoist priests) who pursued immortality and collected medicines to take them. At the same time, there are also large-scale banquet activities, which developed from the banquets held to celebrate the harvest in the pre-Qin Dynasty. "Records of the Years of Jingchu" says: "On September 9th, all the people gathered together for a picnic." Du Gongzhan of the Sui Dynasty noted: "It is unknown when the banquet on September 9th began, but it lasted from the end of the Song Dynasty to the end of the Song Dynasty. "Change." Seeking longevity and feasting form the basis of the Double Ninth Festival.