What festival is chrysanthemum viewing? Chrysanthemum viewing is a holiday custom of the Double Ninth Festival, right?

Chrysanthemum viewing is a festival custom of the Double Ninth Festival.

Double Ninth Festival, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, is called "Double Ninth Festival". 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. 20 12 February 28th, 12, the law makes it clear that the ninth day of the ninth lunar month is the festival for the elderly.

The origin of Double Ninth Festival

According to legend, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a plague demon in Ruhe. As soon as it appeared, people in every household fell ill and died every day, and people in this area were ravaged by plague demons. A plague killed the parents of the teenager Hengjing, and he almost died of illness himself. After he recovered from his illness, he bid farewell to his beloved wife and fellow villagers and decided to go abroad to study fairy arts to rid the people of the plague.

Heng Jing visited teachers everywhere and famous scholars all over the world. Finally, he found an oldest mountain in the east. There is a miraculous fairy on the mountain. Under the guidance of the crane, Hengjing finally found the mountain and the immortal with magical power. The immortal was moved by his spirit, and finally took in Heng Jing, taught him the sword to subdue the demon, and gave him a sword to subdue the demon. Hengjing forgot to eat, sleep and practice hard, and finally became an extraordinary martial art.

On this day, the immortal called Heng Jing to his side and said, "Tomorrow is the ninth day of September, and the plague god will come out to do evil again. When you learn the skill, you should go back and kill the people. " Xianchang gave Hengjing a pack of dogwood leaves and a cup of chrysanthemum wine, and secretly taught him how to ward off evil spirits and let Hengjing ride a crane home. Hengjing returned to his hometown. On the morning of the ninth day of September, according to the fairy's instructions, he led the villagers to a nearby mountain and gave everyone a dogwood leaf and a cup of chrysanthemum wine to prepare for subduing the evil spirits.

At noon, with several strange calls, Mo Wen rushed out of the Ruhe River, but just as Mo Wen jumped down the mountain, he suddenly smelled the strange fragrance of Cornus officinalis and the alcohol smell of Chrysanthemum, and his face suddenly changed. At this time, Heng Jing chased Mo Wen down the mountain with a demon sword, and stabbed him to death in a few rounds. Since then, people on both sides of the Ruhe River have spread the story of climbing a mountain on September 9 to avoid disaster and stabbing a demon with a sword in Huanjing to this day. Since then, people celebrate the Double Ninth Festival and have the custom of climbing mountains on the Double Ninth Festival.

Custom activities of Double Ninth Festival

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The Double Ninth Festival is also called ascensiontide. It is said that climbing on the Double Ninth Festival can avoid disaster, so this custom has been handed down. In addition, climbing on the Double Ninth Festival also means exorcism, blessing, gratitude, gathering and farewell.

Exorcism theory

There is a saying that climbing on the Double Ninth Festival can ward off evil spirits. The ancients believed that during the Double Ninth Festival, the weather dropped, the atmosphere rose, the atmosphere of heaven and earth intersected, and unhealthy trends pervaded. In order to avoid contact with unhealthy evil spirits, we must climb mountains to avoid the evil spirits of Double Ninth Festival. In addition, September 9 is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the autumn is crisp, which is very suitable for climbing high and looking far.

Blessing and gratitude

In ancient times, there was a worship of mountain gods, which believed that mountain gods could save people from danger. Therefore, people should climb high to worship God for good luck on the Double Ninth Festival, and the anode must be changed at this time. "The Book of Rites Sacrifice Law" records: "Mountains and valleys, clouds can come out, for the wind and rain, blame God."

Auspicious meaning

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). "

Climbing series

During the Double Ninth Festival, the autumn harvest has been completed and farming is relatively idle. At this time, Shan Ye's wild fruits and medicinal materials are in the mature season, and farmers have gone up the mountain to collect wild fruits, medicinal materials and plant raw materials for sideline production. The custom of climbing mountains may have evolved from this at first.

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The Double Ninth Festival is also one of the solar terms in nature, so there is also a saying of going up to bid farewell to the old and welcoming the new. 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. In the Qing Dynasty, Pan Rongbi's Ji Sheng at the Age of Emperor Jing recorded: "(Chongyang) has a cure and drinks in the suburbs all day long, which is called' Ci'."

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There is also a saying that mountain climbing actually stems from the ancient people's worship of mountains. The life of ancient people was hard, and nature brought hope to many people. All kinds of plants growing on the mountain, hidden birds and beasts and gurgling streams enable human beings to survive and reproduce. So many people fear nature.

2. Pei dogwood

In ancient times, the custom of inserting dogwood in September was still popular, so the Double Ninth Festival was also called the dogwood Festival. As a medicine, Cornus officinalis can make wine, strengthen the body and get rid of diseases. Evodia rutaecarpa and chrysanthemum were very common 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 9 is also a day of disaster, so people like to wear dogwood to ward off evil spirits and seek good luck on the Double Ninth Festival. Therefore, Cornus officinalis is also called "evil spirit".

Step 3 eat Chongyang cake

The custom of eating Chongyang cake is related to mountain climbing. Gaohe cake is homophonic. As a holiday food, it was originally to celebrate the harvest of autumn grain and taste new grain. After that, the people have the auspicious meaning of climbing to eat cakes and climbing step by step. 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.

Step 4 enjoy chrysanthemums

The Double Ninth Festival has always had the custom of enjoying chrysanthemums, so it has been called Chrysanthemum Festival since ancient times. 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 Han nationality, chrysanthemum symbolizes longevity.

Step 5 drink chrysanthemum wine

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.

Chrysanthemum wine existed in the Han Dynasty. In Wei Dynasty, Cao Pi once presented chrysanthemums to Zhong You 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 hedge of picking chrysanthemums, the pearls are congenial and 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.

6, put paper harrier

Putting paper owls is the main custom of celebrating the Double Ninth Festival in Huizhou. In other words, the folk Double Ninth Festival in Huizhou is mainly characterized by paper flying kites. This habit is not only described in the folk songs circulating in Huizhou, but also recorded in Guangxu's Huizhou Fu Zhi. ?

Paper harriers are kites now, too. Kite is the title after the Five Dynasties. Five dynasties ago, the north used to call it a "paper kite" and the south used to call it a "kite". The appellation of "paper kite" in Huizhou obviously retains the ancient appellation of five dynasties ago, and has the flavor of "a mixture of north and south".

In short, the Double Ninth Festival, also known as the Festival for the Elderly, is a traditional festival of the Han nationality, which falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month every year. Because the Book of Changes defines "six" as a negative number and "nine" as a positive number, on the ninth day of September, the sun and the moon merge into one, so it is called Chongyang, also known as Chongyang. The Double Ninth Festival was formed as early as the Warring States Period. In the Tang Dynasty, the Double Ninth Festival was officially designated as a folk festival, which has been inherited ever since. There is a folk custom of climbing mountains on this day, so the Double Ninth Festival is also called "Mountain Climbing Festival", and there are other sayings such as Cornus officinalis Festival and Chrysanthemum Festival. 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.