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What are the traditional customs of the Double Ninth Festival?

The Double Ninth Festival is held on the ninth day of September every year with a long history. Many traditional customs are handed down by the ancients, and there are also many exquisite foods. We are all familiar with the custom of climbing the Double Ninth Festival, and the ancient poems learned in primary school textbooks are also about the Double Ninth Festival. Today, let's learn about the traditional customs of the Double Ninth Festival and what food to eat.

What are the traditional customs of the Double Ninth Festival? 1

Autumn sun

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". Going to the countryside to appreciate the folk customs and watch the autumn sun has become a fashion in rural tourism. "Sunbathing in autumn" is a typical agricultural custom phenomenon with strong regional characteristics. Villagers living in mountainous areas such as Hunan, Guangxi, Anhui and Jiangxi. It has become a traditional agricultural custom to use the roof in front of the house and the window sill to hang crops. This special lifestyle and scene of villagers drying crops has gradually become the material pursued and created by painters and photographers, and created a poetic name "drying autumn".

fly a kite

Flying kites is the main custom of celebrating the Double Ninth Festival in the south. The folk Double Ninth Festival is characterized by flying kites. Guangxu's "Huizhou Fuzhi" is also recorded. Paper kites are kites now. In the folk tradition, besides climbing mountains, flying kites is also a major feature of the Double Ninth Festival.

Climb the peak

The custom of climbing on the Double Ninth Festival has a long history. In ancient times, there was the custom of climbing on the Double Ninth Festival, so it was also called "Climbing Festival". The climbing custom of Chongyang originated from the climate characteristics at this time and the worship of mountains by the ancients. Climbing is also a solar term originated from nature, and climbing on the Double Ninth Festival corresponds to the spring outing of ancient people in spring and March. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the custom of "climbing to pray for blessings" was popular. There is no uniform regulation on the place of climbing, and the place of climbing is generally divided into mountain climbing, building climbing or platform climbing. There are four origins of high customs: first, the ancients worshipped mountains; Second, it comes from the climate of "clearing the air, raising the turbidity and sinking the gas"; Thirdly, it stems from the "resignation" of climbing; Fourth, it originated from an absurd legend in the attached meeting, "climbing mountains to avoid disasters."

Climbing and praying

The ancient ancients worshipped mountains and formed the custom of "climbing to pray for blessings". "The Book of Rites Sacrifice Law" records: "Mountains and valleys, clouds can come out, for the wind and rain, blame God." According to documents, the ancients revered and worshipped mountains, and the custom of "climbing to pray for blessings" was popular as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The Records of Chang 'an in the Western Han Dynasty recorded that people visited the Han capital on September 9th.

According to the law of the movement of the heavens, the earth, the sun and the moon, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month is a climate of "clearing the air, raising the turbidity and sinking the air". The higher the terrain is, the more high-definition air is gathered, so "Chongyang climbs high and enjoys the cool" has become an important folk custom.

The term "tattoo" comes from the solar terms in nature. Chongyang is an autumn festival. After the holiday, the weather became colder and the plants began to wither. The word "climbing the mountain" on the Double Ninth Festival corresponds to the "outing" of the ancients in March in the spring.

The myth and legend of climbing mountains to avoid disasters in the Double Ninth Festival began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is said that there was a warlock named Huan Jing in Henan at that time. He thought that there would be a plague on this day, and people should leave their homes and go as high as possible to be safe. In Wu Liangjun's mythical novel "Continuation of Qi and Harmony" in the Southern Dynasties, the absurd story of Huan Jing going up the mountain to avoid disaster on September 9 was recorded.

Eat Chongyang cake

According to historical records, Chongyang cake, also known as flower cake, chrysanthemum cake and five-color cake, is made randomly. It was the original intention of the ancients to make cakes at dawn on September 9. The child put a cake on his head and said a word in his mouth, wishing the child all the best. Exquisite Chongyang cake should be made into nine layers, like a pagoda, with two lambs on it, which conforms to the meaning of Chongyang (sheep). Some people even put red paper flags (instead of dogwood) on Chongyang cakes and light candles. This probably means "lighting a lamp" and "eating a cake", not "climbing". At present, there is still no fixed variety of Chongyang cake, and the soft cakes eaten in Chongyang Festival all over the country are called Chongyang cakes.

offer sacrifices to ancestors

The Double Ninth Festival is one of the four traditional festivals of ancestor worship in China, and there is a tradition of ancestor worship and blessing in ancient times. In ancient times, the traditional custom of ancestor worship on Double Ninth Festival was still popular in Lingnan area, and people held ancestor worship activities on Double Ninth Festival every year. Whether worshipping ancestors or looking far away, its most fundamental function is to enhance people's cultural identity and strengthen the cohesion of family and society.

Appreciate the beautiful chrysanthemums

The Double Ninth Festival has always had the custom of enjoying chrysanthemums, so it has been called Chrysanthemum Festival since ancient times. The custom of appreciating chrysanthemums originated from chrysanthemum culture. Chrysanthemum is a natural flower. Chrysanthemum has formed chrysanthemum culture because of its colorful colors and blooming in Ao Shuang. September of the lunar calendar, commonly known as Chrysanthemum Month, holds a chrysanthemum party on holidays, and people from all over the city go to the meeting to enjoy chrysanthemums. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties in the Three Kingdoms, it has become fashionable for Chongyang parties to drink and enjoy chrysanthemums and recite poems. In the ancient customs of China, chrysanthemum symbolizes longevity. Chrysanthemum is the flower of longevity, and is praised by scholars as the unyielding symbol of first frost.

tattoo

The ancients regarded Chongyang and Shangsi (Tomb-Sweeping Day) as the corresponding Spring and Autumn festivals. If Shangsi Festival is a festival for people to go swimming after a long winter, then Chongyang is a ceremonial autumn outing when people are about to live in seclusion, so there are the folk customs of "outing" in Tomb-Sweeping Day and "bidding farewell to youth" on Double Ninth Festival.

Enjoy a feast and beg for a long life

The custom of seeking longevity on the Double Ninth Festival was first recorded in the Han Dynasty. It is recorded in the Miscellaneous Notes of Xijing in the Han Dynasty: "On September 9, Pei Yun ate the bait and drank chrysanthemum wine, and the clouds made people live longer." The Chronicle of Jingchu said: "On September 9th, four people had a picnic together. "Duke Du of Sui wrote:" I don't know when the banquet on September 9 started, and it hasn't changed since it was stationed in Song Dynasty. "On the basis of offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors, longevity and feasting have been increased, forming the foundation of the Double Ninth Festival. In fact, the large-scale banquet activities of the Double Ninth Festival developed from the harvest celebrations and sacrificial banquets in the pre-Qin period.

Peidogwood

The custom of inserting Evodia rutaecarpa was popular in ancient times, so it is also called Cornus Festival. Cornus officinalis is a kind of fruit that can be used as medicine. Because the quality of Cornus officinalis produced in Wuyuedi (now Jiangsu and Zhejiang) is the best, it is also called Evodia rutaecarpa. The ancients believed that climbing a mountain and inserting Evodia rutaecarpa on the Double Ninth Festival could repel insects, damp and pathogenic wind. So he put Cornus officinalis on his arm or in a sachet and on his head. Most of them are worn by women and children, and men in some places also wear them.

As a medicine, Cornus officinalis can make wine, strengthen the body and get rid of diseases. Cornus officinalis has a strong aroma, which has the functions of improving eyesight, refreshing brain, expelling pathogenic fire, removing dampness and expelling wind, resolving food stagnation and treating cold and heat. The ancient custom, such as inserting dogwood, is a climbing behavior of folk to ward off wind and evil spirits. Inserting dogwood and chrysanthemum has become very common in the Tang Dynasty. On the Double Ninth Festival, the clear sky rises and the polluted air sinks. People use natural medicines such as Cornus officinalis to adjust their health to adapt to natural climate change.

What are the traditional customs of the Double Ninth Festival II.

What food does the Double Ninth Festival eat?

1, Chongyang chrysanthemum wine

Chrysanthemum wine is an auspicious wine for the Double Ninth Festival, which has a long and lasting meaning because of its homophonic sound. So there is the custom of drinking chrysanthemum wine on the Double Ninth Festival.

Autumn in September, autumn chrysanthemum in Ao Shuang, because chrysanthemum is not afraid of cold, has become a symbol of vitality. Therefore, in ancient times, chrysanthemum had unusual cultural significance. It is regarded as a life-prolonging guest and immortal grass, which can make people grow old and strong. People often pick chrysanthemums and a little green branches and leaves in the autumn of the first year, and mix them with grain to brew. Generally, it will be brewed in the first year and placed on the Double Ninth Festival in the second year. According to the older generation, drinking this wine can prolong life.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, people added a variety of herbs to chrysanthemum wine, and the effect was better. The preparation method comprises decocting Flos Chrysanthemi, brewing with yeast and rice, or adding Radix Rehmanniae, Radix Angelicae Sinensis, Fructus Lycii, etc. Gao Lian's "Eight Notes on Respect for Life" clearly records this, saying that chrysanthemum wine is a very popular health drink. Miscellanies of Xijing describes that during the reign of Emperor Gaozu, the palace "wore dogwood on September 9th, ate lotus bait and drank chrysanthemum wine, which made people live longer".

2. Jiujiu Chongyang cake

Double Ninth Cake is an important food for Double Ninth Festival. "Dumen Miscellaneous Use" is written on the cake:

Just after the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Double Ninth Festival, flowers and cakes everywhere are busy.

With double layers of jujube and millet noodles, Liu Lang proudly set up a banquet.

According to records, Chongyang has been eating flower cakes since the Western Han Dynasty, and it was called Peng Bait at that time, which is Xiaomi cake. In the Song Dynasty, it was very popular to eat flower cakes on the Double Ninth Festival, which has been passed down to this day. In order to eat beautifully, people make colorful Chongyang cakes and sprinkle some sweet-scented osmanthus on the cake surface, so Chongyang cakes are also called Osmanthus Jelly.

Double Ninth Festival is to climb high to avoid disaster. "Cake" and "Gao" are homophonic, meaning "step by step" and "longevity", so "Chongyang Flower Cake" has become the most popular food in the Double Ninth Festival. Chongyang cake, also known as flower cake, chrysanthemum cake and five-color cake, is made randomly.

Flower cakes are generally sandwiched with rough dried fruits such as olives, dates and walnuts, with three or two layers, or with thinner candied dried fruits such as preserved apples, peaches, apricots and dates.

At present, the Chongyang cake sold on the Double Ninth Festival will still be cut into triangles with colorful colored paper, fixed with bamboo sticks and inserted on the Chongyang cake. Small appearance is really cute.

3. Chestnut cakes in the north and Ciba in the south

There are many snacks in Beijing, two of which are specially eaten for the Double Ninth Festival. One is the flower cake mentioned above, and the other is the chestnut cake. As the name implies, chestnut cake is made of chestnut paste as the main material.

Chestnut cake is made by peeling raw chestnuts, steaming and mashing them into mud, dividing the chestnut mud into three parts, paving one part as the bottom layer, then paving a layer of Beijing cake slices, smoothing one part on the Beijing cake slices, then smearing a layer of sand stuffing, smearing the last layer of chestnut mud on the top layer, and splicing the top with water chestnut-shaped small Beijing cake slices and thin green plum shreds into a pattern.

In the southwest of China, Ciba is eaten on the Double Ninth Festival. Its practice is to put the washed glutinous rice into a boiling pot, boil it, steam it in a cage, mash it in a mortar and knead it into a ball. When eating, stir-fry sesame seeds, pound them into fine powder, rub chaff into strips, pull them into small pieces, and mix with sesame seeds and sugar. This is a kind of soft shell.

There is also a hard rake, also called an oil rake. The practice is to steam the glutinous rice without mashing it and put it on the table to knead it into a ball. After rolling, put some salt and pepper powder to make a filling, then roll it into thin slices and fry it in the oil pan. Golden and beautiful in color, salty, crisp and delicious, with endless aftertaste.

4. Eat mutton on the Double Ninth Festival.

Eating mutton noodles on the Double Ninth Festival is because sheep and yang are homophonic, which should be the code name of the Double Ninth Festival. You must eat white flour. White is a hundred words. If you remove the top one, it means that one hundred minus one is exactly ninety-nine, which is also the code of ninety-nine. In some places, on the day of the Double Ninth Festival, a banquet will be held with mutton as the main food, such as fried, roasted, rinsed and even a whole lamb mat.

Because autumn is the fattest season for sheep, mutton is warm and can keep out the cold. Compared with pork and beef, mutton is tender, high in protein and low in fat and cholesterol, so it is very suitable for the elderly. The ancients who paid attention to health paid attention to autumn tonic, and mutton was the best tonic, so Chongyang wanted to eat sheep.

There are many famous snacks based on buckwheat noodles and mutton in northern Shaanxi, such as mutton noodles and buckwheat noodles. When people in northern Shaanxi celebrate the Double Ninth Festival, they all want to eat buckwheat mutton at night.

5. Eat crabs on the Double Ninth Festival.

Autumn is the season to eat crabs. At this time, crabs are fat, full of cream yellow and full of crab meat. It is natural to eat crabs on the Double Ninth Festival. This is also the case. In many places in China, crabs are eaten on the Double Ninth Festival.