重阳节
chóng yáng jié
Double Ninth Festival
时间：农历九月初九
Time：October 13th，2013
别称：登高节、老年节、老人节
Other names： Hiking Festival，Senior
citizen’s Day
习俗：登高、饮菊花酒、吃花糕、佩带茱萸、敬老等
Customs:
Hiking, Drink chrysanthesmum wine，Eat Chongyang
cake，wear Zhuyu，Respect
the elder
The Double Ninth Festival (Chung Yang Festival ) observed
on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese calendar, is a traditional
Chinese holiday, mentioned in writing since before the East Han, period (before
AD 25).
According to the I
Ching, nine is a Yang number; the ninth day of the ninth lunar month (or double
nine) has too much Yang (a traditional Chinese spiritual concept) and is thus a
potentially dangerous date. Hence, the day is also called "Double Yang
Festival" (重阳节). To protect against danger, it is
customary to climb a high mountain, drink chrysanthemum wine, and wear the Zhuyu
(茱萸) plant, (Both chrysanthemum and Zhuyu are
considered to have cleansing qualities and are used on other occasions to air
out houses and cure illnesses.) new China, where the festival is also an
opportunity to care for and appreciate the elderly
In Double Ninth
may have originated as a day to drive away danger, but like the Chinese New
Year, over time it became a day of celebration. In contemporary times it is an
occasion for hiking and chrysanthemum appreciation. Stores sell rice cakes (糕 "gāo", a homophone for height 高) with mini colorful flags to represent Zhuyu. Most
people drink chrysanthemum tea, while a few traditionalists drink homemade
chrysanthemum wine. Children learn poems about chrysanthemums, and many
localities host chrysanthemum exhibits. Mountain climbing races are also
popular; winners get to wear a wreath made of Zhuyu.
One day a man
named Huan Jing believed that a monster bringing pestilence was coming. He told
his countrymen to hide on a hill while he went to defeat the monster. Later,
people celebrated Huan Jing's defeat of the monster on the ninth day of the
ninth lunar month.
Poem
There is an
often-quoted poem about the holiday:
九月九日忆山东兄弟
jiǔ yuè jiǔ rì yì shān dōng
xiōng dì
独在异乡为异客,
dú zài yì xiāng
wéi yì kè
每逢佳节倍思亲.
měi féng jiā jié
bèi sī qīn
遥知兄弟登高处,
yáo zhī xiōng dì
dēng gāo chù
遍插茱萸少一人.
biàn chā zhū yú
shǎo yī rén
English:
"Double Ninth, Missing
My Shandong Brothers"
— Wang Wei(王维)Tang
Dynasty
On the ninth day of the ninth month, I remember my
brothers from Shan Dong.
As a lonely
stranger in a foreign land,
At every holiday
my homesickness increases.
Far away, I know
my brothers have reached the peak;
They are planting
flowers, but one is not present.
