Hey, have you ever heard about The Double Ninth Festival? It’s a traditional festival in China. The “double nine” in the name refers to the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. In fact, in China we usually call it “Chongyang”, because according to the <I Ching>, a sacred book of Taoism, nine is the yang (from “yin” and “yang”) number. And “chong” means double.
The Double Ninth Festival is to bless the aged people to live longer. The number “9” in China has the same sound to the word “long”.
This festival has a long history. The earliest record can be found in The Three Kingdoms period (about AD220~280). On the day of The Double Ninth Festival, people climb the mountains and wear a plant “Zhuyu”. On this day, people eat the “Chongyang cake”, enjoy chrysanthemums, and drink wine which is made from chrysanthemums. Chinese people think all these activities can get rid of evils. Flying kites is also a traditional activity.There are lots of Chinese ancient poetry about this festival. The most famous one is WangWei’s “Double Ninth, Missing My Shandong Brothers”.
As a lonely stranger in the strange land,
Every holiday the homesickness amplifies.
Knowing that my brothers have reached the peak,
All but one is present at the planting of zhuyu.
