Double Ninth Festival

Template:Short description Template:Infobox holiday Template:Infobox Chinese Template:Infobox Chinese The Double Ninth Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday observed on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese calendar. It is a statutory public holiday in Hong Kong (as Chung Yeung Festival) and Macau,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and is observed in several East Asian countries. According to historian Template:Ill, it dates back to the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD).<ref name="Roy"/>

According to the I Ching, nine is a yang number; the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese calendar (or double nine) has extra yang (a traditional Chinese spiritual concept) and is thus an auspicious date.<ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Double Ninth Festival">Template:Cite book</ref> Hence, the day is also called Double Yang Festival (Template:Zh).<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Double Ninth Festival">Template:Cite book</ref> It is customary to climb a mountain,<ref name="Eberhard Chinese Festivals Double Ninth"/><ref name="認識中國傳統節日和風俗45">Template:Cite book</ref> drink chrysanthemum liquor,<ref name="Eberhard Chinese Festivals Double Ninth">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="認識中國傳統節日和風俗45"/> and wear the zhuyu (Template:Zh) plant (Cornus officinalis). Both chrysanthemum and zhuyu are considered to have cleansing qualities and are used on other occasions to air out houses and cure illnesses.

On this holiday, some Chinese also visit the graves of their ancestors to pay their respects.<ref name="認識中國傳統節日和風俗45"/> In Hong Kong and Macau, whole extended families head to ancestral graves to clean them, repaint inscriptions and lay out food offerings such as roast suckling pig and fruit, which are then eaten (after the spirits have consumed the spiritual element of the food). Chongyang cake is also popular<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Double Ninth Festival"/> and incense sticks are burned during the holiday.<ref>Chung Yueng Festival, Discover Hong Kong</ref>

Origin

The origins of the festival date back as early as the Warring States period.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to legend, the traditions of hiking and drinking chrysanthemum wine on this day began with the Han dynasty man Template:Ill and his disciple Template:Ill.<ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Double Ninth Festival"/> One year, Fei advised Huan to bring chrysanthemum wine and food and climb a mountain with his family on the ninth day of the ninth month.<ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Double Ninth Festival"/> Huan followed his master's instructions, and when he returned home he found that his livestock had all suddenly died; if he had not climbed the mountain as instructed, the same would have happened to him and his family.<ref name="認識中國傳統節日和風俗45"/><ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Double Ninth Festival"/><ref name="中國節日的故事 Double Ninth">Template:Cite book</ref>

An alternative origin story involves intrigue in the imperial court of Emperor Gaozu of Han. As part of Empress Lü's jealous plot against Consort Qi, the latter's maid was forced out of the imperial palace.<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Double Ninth Festival"/> The maid, surnamed Jia (Template:Zh), told the common people that in the palace it was customary to wear dogwood and drink chrysanthemum wine on the ninth day of the ninth month, and these customs spread more widely.<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Double Ninth Festival"/>

Double Ninth may have originated as a day to drive away danger, but like the Chinese New Year, over time, it became a day of celebration. In contemporary times, it is an occasion for hiking and chrysanthemum appreciation.<ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Double Ninth Festival"/><ref name="Zhao">Template:Cite book</ref> Other activities include flying kites, making flower cakes, and welcoming married daughters back home for visiting.<ref name="Zhao" />

The festival is also an opportunity to care for and appreciate the elderly,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and to that end, Taiwan has rededicated the holiday as Senior Citizens' Day.<ref name="GIO"/>

Stores sell rice cakes (Template:Zh "gāo", a homophone for height Template:Zh) with mini colorful flags to represent zhuyu. Most people drink chrysanthemum tea, while a few traditionalists drink homemade chrysanthemum wine. Children learn poems about chrysanthemums and many localities host chrysanthemum exhibits. Mountain climbing races are also popular; winners get to wear a wreath made of zhuyu.

Outside China

Japan

In Japan, the festival is known as Chōyō but also as the Template:Nihongo4 and it is one of Japan's five sacred ancient festivals (sekku).<ref name=TheFreeDictionary>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="pottery">Template:Cite web</ref> It is most commonly celebrated on the 9th day of the 9th month according to the Gregorian calendar rather than the lunisolar calendar, i.e. on September 9. It is celebrated at both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The festival is celebrated in the wish for the longevity of one's life and is observed by drinking chrysanthemum sake and eating dishes such as chestnut rice (Template:Transliteration) and chestnuts with glutinous rice (Template:Transliteration).<ref name="pottery"/>

Korea

In Korea, the festival is known as Jungyangjeol (Template:Korean), and it is celebrated on the 9th day of the 9th month.<ref name="Korean Customs"/> Koreans would consume chrysanthemum leaves in pancakes. As the festival is meant to celebrate and cultivate good health, outdoor activities such as carrying dogwood, climbing hills or mountains for picnics, and gazing at chrysanthemum blossoms are carried out.<ref name="Roy"/><ref name="Korean Customs"/>

Taiwan

Double Ninth Day is not a major festival in Taiwan, but the country retains some of the Double Ninth Day practices once found in China.<ref name="Chen">Template:Cite news</ref> For some families, the day (like New Year's Eve and Qingming Festival) offers the opportunity to venerate distant ancestors who are not otherwise honoured on their birthdays, but this is often done on the weekend before if Double Ninth falls on a weekday.<ref name="Chen"/> In 1966, Taiwan rededicated the holiday as Senior Citizens' Day,<ref name="GIO">Template:Cite web</ref> and local governments often make small cash payments to senior citizens (Template:Lang-zh) for the occasion,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but the holiday is otherwise not widely observed.

Gallery

Participants arrive at the Chai Wan Cemetery, Hong Kong, 2015
Chai Wan Cemetery Hong Kong, 2015
Chai Wan Cemetery, Hong Kong, 2015
Xian Tang Village, Dongguan, China, 2015
Xian Tang Village, Dongguan, China, 2015

References

Template:Reflist

Template:Hong Kong Holidays

Double Ninth Festival

Contents

Origin