What are the customs of the Double Ninth Festival?

Double Ninth Festival is one of the traditional festivals in China. Every year on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, people climb mountains 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 are: climbing mountains, enjoying autumn, enjoying chrysanthemums, enjoying dogwood, flying kites, eating double ninth cake, drinking chrysanthemum wine, being grateful and respecting the elderly, etc. In my opinion, among the many customs of the Double Ninth Festival, five are most worth mentioning. Let's take a look:

? One of the customs of Double Ninth Festival: Flying kites?

Flying kites is one of the main customs of the Double Ninth Festival in southern China. The folk Double Ninth Festival is characterized by flying kites. Guangxu's "Huizhou Fuzhi" is also recorded. In the folk tradition, besides climbing mountains, flying kites is also a major feature of the Double Ninth Festival. As for why people fly kites (kites) on the Double Ninth Festival, apart from the climatic reasons that the sky is high and the clouds are light, and the wind is light and bright, paper kites are easy to ride the wind, and there are some sayings that are between wizards and witches, which are quite interesting inadvertently.

According to legend, flying kites on the Double Ninth Festival is for "bad luck". The higher a kite flies, the more bad luck it takes away. What's more, to make the kite disappear, you need to disconnect it specially. Another explanation is that flying kites in Chongyang is "auspicious" and "lucky". The better the kite flies, the more blessed it is. People who fly kites not only can't break the silk thread, but also must do everything possible to protect it, because when the silk thread is broken, "auspiciousness" and "luck" will also drift away.

? The second custom of Double Ninth Festival: Climbing?

In ancient times, people had the custom of climbing in Chongyang, so the Double Ninth Festival was also called "Climbing 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 methods "Climbing the Mountain" is a famous article about climbing the Double Ninth Mountain. There are no uniform rules except climbing mountains and towers. Many people will choose to climb mountains in the Double Ninth Festival, so it is also called "Mountaineering Festival". There is no uniform rule for climbing mountains. Generally, we climb mountains and towers. Especially on a special day, it is even more enjoyable, that is, the mountaineering festival of the Double Ninth Festival.

The ancients climbed mountains from a legend in the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Fei Changfang, an immortal of the later Han Dynasty, said to his disciple Huan Jing one day, "On September 9th, there will be disaster in your home. If you bring the whole family, everyone will put dogwood in a red bag and hang it on their arms, and drink chrysanthemum wine when climbing the mountain, so you can avoid disaster. " Huan Jing took the whole family to the mountains on September 9 as the master said. When he got home at night, he saw that all the poultry and livestock in the family died suddenly. He knew that what his master said was true, and he and his family had escaped. Later generations passed it down from generation to generation, and regarded September 9 as a time to climb mountains to avoid disasters and get together by drinking, which gradually became a custom.

Another fact is that climbing Chongyang originated from the worship of mountain gods in ancient times. Believe that mountain gods can save people from disaster. The ancients thought that "nine is Lao Yang, and the anode will change", and the number of Lao Yang on September 9th was both a month and a day, which was unlucky. Therefore, people must go to the mountains to avoid disasters on the Double Ninth Festival. 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 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 chrysanthemum and drinking chrysanthemum wine originated from Tao Yuanming, a great poet in Jin Dynasty. Tao Yuanming is famous for his seclusion. His poems, his wine and his love for chrysanthemums will be used for reference by future generations, so he has the custom of enjoying chrysanthemums on Double Ninth Festival. In the old days, in order to get closer to Tao Yuanming, ten literati doctors also combined chrysanthemum appreciation with banquets.

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

? The fourth custom of double ninth festival: Pei dogwood?

In ancient times, the custom of inserting Huang Zhu in September was also very popular, so it was also called Huangshu Festival. Huang Ju, as a medicine, can make wine to strengthen the body and eliminate diseases. It was very common to insert yellow flowers and chrysanthemums in the Tang Dynasty. Cornus officinalis has a strong aroma, and has the functions of expelling parasites, removing dampness, expelling wind, promoting digestion and resolving food stagnation, and treating cold and heat. People think that September 9th is also a day of disaster, so people like to wear Huang Zhu on the Double Ninth Festival to ward off evil spirits and seek good luck. Therefore, Huang Zhu is also known as the "evil ghost".

On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, there is an auspicious meaning of "appropriate for a long time". At the end of the Han Dynasty, Cao Pi said in September and Zhong You: "The New Year is from September to September, and suddenly to September 9. Nine is the yang number, and the sun and the moon should be in harmony. It is a common name, so it should last for a long time, so it is necessary to enjoy a banquet (that is, a climbing meeting). " Therefore, it has gradually become a folk custom for women to tie dogwood bags on their arms.

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

"Sunbathing in autumn" is a typical agricultural custom phenomenon with strong regional characteristics. In some places, the annual Double Ninth Festival also began to enter the autumn dry season, and a grand autumn dry festival was held.

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

For people living in mountainous areas, the terrain here is very complicated. Even in inhabited villages, there is little flat land. If you are drying crops, you can only make full use of the front and back of the house, or the windowsill and roof of your own house. After a long time, very traditional agricultural customs have naturally formed. Generally speaking, the Double Ninth Festival refers to 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 should be reminded that the autumn in the sun does not mean autumn, but refers to the harvested fruits and crops. In fact, the traditional agricultural custom of sunbathing exists not only in autumn, but also all year round. It's just that autumn is a harvest season, there are more kinds of crops, and the scope and scale of sunbathing in autumn are richer and larger, so it attracts people's attention more.

In the historical development and evolution, the Double Ninth Festival is a mixture of various folk customs, bearing rich cultural connotations. In the folk concept, "nine" is the largest number, which means longevity, and it places people's wishes for the health and longevity of the elderly.