What are the customs of the Double Ninth Festival?

Double Ninth Festival, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, is called "Double Ninth Festival". There are six Yin and nine Yang in the post-Ye Confucian view of Yin and Yang in Hanzhong. Nine is the number of yang, and the real nine is also called "Chongyang". People have the custom of climbing mountains on that day, so the Double Ninth Festival is also called "Mountaineering Festival". There are also sayings such as Double Ninth Festival, Cornus officinalis and Chrysanthemum Festival. Because the homonym of "99" on the ninth day of September is "long" and has a long-term meaning, activities to worship ancestors and respect the elderly are often carried out on this day. The Double Ninth Festival and the three festivals of "the first day", "the Qing Dynasty" and "Chongqing" are also the four major festivals for ancestor worship in Chinese traditional festivals. Only in recent years, people pay more attention to the elderly, so this festival is also called the festival for the elderly. What are the customs of this traditional festival? Let Bian Xiao introduce you.

Appreciate the beautiful chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemum, also called yellow flower, belongs to Compositae and has many varieties. China is the hometown of chrysanthemum, and it has been common to cultivate chrysanthemum since ancient times. Chrysanthemum is the flower of longevity, and is praised by scholars as the unyielding symbol of first frost, so people love and praise it, so large-scale chrysanthemum exhibitions are often held. Chrysanthemum exhibition is naturally held in Chongyang, because the relationship between chrysanthemum and Chongyang is too deep; So Chongyang is also called Chrysanthemum Festival, and Chrysanthemum is also called Jiuhua. Chrysanthemum viewing has become an integral part of the custom of the Double Ninth Festival. In the Song Dynasty, "Dream of Tokyo" Volume 8: "In September, everyone enjoys chrysanthemums, and there are several kinds. Its yellow and white pistils are called "Wanning Chrysanthemum", pink ones are called "Peach Blossom Chrysanthemum", white ones are called "Muxiangju", yellow ones are called "Jinling Chrysanthemum" and pure white ones are called "Xirong Chrysanthemum". Everywhere. "

Climb the peak

One of the most important festival activities in Chongyang is mountain climbing. Therefore, the Double Ninth Festival is also called "ascensiontide". There is no uniform rule for climbing mountains. Generally, we climb mountains and towers.

Of course, people climb mountains not only to climb mountains, but also to see the red leaves and wild flowers on the mountains and enjoy them by drinking and eating meat. This combination of climbing mountains and picnics is more attractive. For example, Sun Simiao in the Sui Dynasty said in the "Thousand Yue Jinfang Orders": "On the Double Ninth Festival, you must watch the wine and climb the mountain, and enjoy the autumn ambition with a feast. Wine must take dogwood and chrysanthemum, and you must drink it. " Remember that the customs of the Sui Dynasty are similar to those of later generations. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Meng Liang Lu published in five years: "The sun and the moon fly, hoping for Chongyang. ? It was the day when' Meng Jia went to Longshan to drop his hat and Yuanming went to Dongli to enjoy chrysanthemums', which was the story. " The first film of Han Yuanji's "The First Nine Days of Shuidiao Song" in the Southern Song Dynasty: "Today I am more important than nine, and I can't stand chrysanthemums. Try to find a high place and take a photo of Cui Wei hand in hand. Let your eyes shine on the pale cliffs of Wan Ren. Clouds will protect the frost at dawn, and you will know that I am coming with you. The ancient temple is leaning against bamboo, and the cornices are extremely sharp. " This paper describes the charm of chrysanthemum appreciation in Chongyang.

Because the Double Ninth Festival is an autumn festival, flowers and trees begin to wither after the festival, so there is a saying that the double ninth festival is called "tattoo", which corresponds to the saying that the spring outing in March is called "outing". In the Qing Dynasty, Pan Rongbi wrote in Ji Sheng during the reign of Emperor Jing: "(Chongyang) has a cure and drinks in the suburbs all day, which is called' tattoo'." This is also a poetic name.

Pei dogwood praised chrysanthemum

The Double Ninth Festival has the custom of worshipping Cornus officinalis, so it is also called "Cornus officinalis Festival". Cornus officinalis is an important symbol of the Double Ninth Festival. People also like to wear chrysanthemums on the Double Ninth Festival. Cornus officinalis is nicknamed "evil-ward Weng" and chrysanthemum is also called "longevity-prolonging guest".

Cornus officinalis is a kind of fruit that can be used as medicine. Because the quality of Cornus officinalis produced in Wudi (now in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces) is the best, it is also called Evodia rutaecarpa, also called Moongum or Dwarf. It is a small evergreen tree, which can grow to more than ten feet high, with pinnate compound leaves and green and white flowers in early summer, as strong as pepper seeds. Mature after autumn. The fruit is yellow when tender and purple when ripe, which has the effects of warming the middle warmer, relieving pain and regulating qi. Cornus officinalis leaves can also cure cholera, and roots can kill insects. Compendium of Materia Medica says it is spicy and fragrant, warm in nature, and can cure cold and drive away poison. The ancients believed that wearing dogwood could ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters.

Eat Chongyang cake

Besides drinking dogwood, chrysanthemum wine and eating chrysanthemum, Chongyang has many ways of eating, the most famous of which is eating cakes. It is especially windy to eat Chongyang cake in the north.

According to Xijing Miscellanies, in the Han Dynasty, September 9th was the custom of eating Peng bait, which was the original Double Ninth Festival cake. The bait is an ancient cake. "Zhou Li" has bait for sacrifice or banquet. There were millet cakes in the Han Dynasty, which may not be far from today's cakes. Peng bait, presumably similar to millet cake and so on. In the Song Dynasty, eating Chongyang cake was popular. Cake is homophonic with Gao, and eating cake is for good luck, so it is favored by people.

Chongyang cake, also known as flower cake, chrysanthemum cake and five-color cake, can be made at will, including "coarse flower cake", "fine flower cake" and "money flower cake". Stick some coriander leaves as a sign, and put some rough dried fruits such as olives, dates and walnuts in the middle; There are three or two layers of fine flower cakes, each with fine candied dried fruits, such as preserved apples, peaches, apricots and dates. Money flower cake is basically the same as fine flower cake, but smaller, just like "money", which is mostly the food of the upper nobility.

It is said that in the early years, people did not put dates and chestnuts on flour cakes, or sticky cakes made of steamed glutinous rice and yellow wheat, which looked like "gold-plated" and "silver-plated" flower cakes.

Drink chrysanthemum wine

Chrysanthemum, a famous flower in China, is also a famous flower with long life. During the first frost, only this kind of grass flourished. Because of its unique character, chrysanthemum has become a symbol of vitality. As early as Qu Yuan's pen, there was a saying that "the autumn chrysanthemum leaves the English for dinner", that is, eating chrysanthemum petals. Chrysanthemum wine existed in the Han Dynasty. Wei Shi once gave chrysanthemum to Zhong Wu in Chongyang, wishing him a long life. Ge Hong of the Jin Dynasty recorded in Bao Puzi that there was a family in Nanyang Mountain, Henan Province, who lived a long life because of drinking the sweet valley water full of chrysanthemums. In Liang's "Picking Chrysanthemums", there is a saying that "under the east fence of picking chrysanthemums, picking pearls tells each other that the morning dew is wet", which is also a move of picking chrysanthemums to make wine. Until the Ming and Qing Dynasties, chrysanthemum wine was still very popular, and it was still recorded in Gao Lian's Eight Chapters of Respect for Life in the Ming Dynasty. This is a popular health drink.

On the Double Ninth Festival, China has the traditional custom of drinking chrysanthemum wine. Chrysanthemum wine, in ancient times, was regarded as the "auspicious wine" that Chongyang must drink to eliminate disasters and pray for blessings.

People usually climb mountains, enjoy chrysanthemums, drink chrysanthemum wine, insert dogwood and eat cakes when celebrating the Double Ninth Festival. In addition, because the homonym of "99" on the ninth day of September is "long-lasting", it has a lasting meaning, so ancestor worship and filial piety activities are often carried out on this day.