What color does the Chongyang Festival represent?

The Chongyang Festival represents the color yellow or gold, as it falls on the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar.

Anciently, folk in the Chrysanthemum Festival had the custom of ascending to a high altitude to pray for blessings, enjoying chrysanthemums in autumn, wearing dogwoods, worshipping the gods and ancestors, and praying for longevity at feasts, and so on. Nowadays, it has added the connotation of honoring the elderly, enjoying the feast on the day of Chung Yeung and honoring the elderly with thanksgiving. The two important themes of the Chrysanthemum Festival today are the appreciation of the autumn and the thanksgiving and respect for the elderly.

Historical Evolution:

The Chrysanthemum custom was popularized in the Han Dynasty, which was a period of economic and cultural exchanges and fusion between the north and south of China, and cultural exchanges between different places led to the fusion and spread of the festival. The Han Dynasty work "Xijing Miscellany" includes the ancient custom of seeking longevity on the Chongyang Festival.

"Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital" records that Jia Peilan, a courtesan during the Western Han Dynasty, said, "On September 9, wear dogwood, eat pom-pom bait, and drink chrysanthemum wine, and the clouds make people live longer." This is the earliest record of the custom of seeking longevity on the Chongyang Festival in written materials.

It is said to be influenced by ancient sorcerers (later Taoist priests) who pursued longevity and collected medicines to take. It is also said that during the Warring States period, Chongyang was already valued by people in some places, but it was only an activity carried out in the royal palaces.