The Double Ninth Festival on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month is a traditional folk festival in China. In ancient times, there were some folk customs on the Double Ninth Festival, such as climbing to pray for blessings, enjoying chrysanthemums in autumn, planting dogwood, offering sacrifices to ancestors and holding banquets to pray for longevity. Inherited to this day, it has increased the connotation of respecting the elderly. Climbing mountains and enjoying autumn and giving thanks and respecting the elderly are two important themes of today's Double Ninth Festival.
In the historical development and evolution, the Double Ninth Festival is a mixture of various folk customs, bearing rich cultural connotations. In the folk concept, "nine" is the largest number, which means longevity, and it places people's wishes for the health and longevity of the elderly.
From 65438 to 0989, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month was designated as "Respect for the Elderly", which advocated the whole society to establish the atmosphere of respecting, respecting, loving and helping the elderly. On May 20th, 2006, the Double Ninth Festival was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage in the State Council.
Second, the folk custom of the Double Ninth Festival.
1, basking in autumn
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.
2. Fly a kite.
Flying kites is the main custom of celebrating the Double Ninth Festival in the south. A kite is a kite now. In the folk tradition, besides climbing mountains, flying kites is also a major feature of the Double Ninth Festival.
Step 3: climb the mountain
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 custom of climbing the mountain in Chongyang originated from the climate characteristics at this time and the worship of mountains by the ancients. 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.
Step 4 eat Chongyang cake
According to historical records, Chongyang cake, also known as flower cake, chrysanthemum cake and five-color cake, is made randomly. At dawn on September 9th, put a cake on the child's head and say something in his mouth, wishing the child all the best. This is the original intention of the ancients to make cakes in September.
5. ancestor worship
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.
Step 6 enjoy chrysanthemums
The Double Ninth Festival has always had the custom of enjoying chrysanthemums, so it was also called "Chrysanthemum Festival" in ancient times. Chrysanthemum is a natural flower. Because of its colorful colors, Ao Shuang is in full bloom, forming a "chrysanthemum culture" of appreciating and praising chrysanthemums.
7. tattoo
The ancients regarded Chongyang and Shangsi (Tomb-Sweeping Day) as the corresponding Spring and Autumn festivals. The Double Ninth Festival is an autumn outing ceremony, about the time when the autumn cold comes and people are about to live in seclusion. Therefore, there is the custom of "outing" in Tomb-Sweeping Day and "bidding farewell to youth" in the Double Ninth Festival.
8. Enjoy a longevity feast
The custom of seeking longevity on the Double Ninth Festival was first recorded in the Han Dynasty.
9. Pei dogwood
The custom of inserting Evodia rutaecarpa was popular in ancient times, so it is also called Cornus Festival. 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.
Extended data
First, about the origin of the Double Ninth Festival, there are mainly the following three kinds.
1, Yijing Jiuyang number
The name of "Chongyang" comes from "Yang is nine" in the ancient book Yijing. In the Book of Changes, "six" is defined as yin number, "nine" is defined as yang number, and "extreme number" means that the height of the sky is "nine times". On the ninth day of September, the sun and every month meet on the ninth day, which means "the weight of 29", so it is called "double ninth". At the same time, the two yang numbers are combined, so it is called "double ninth".
2. Harvest and sacrifice to heaven
The origin of the Double Ninth Festival can be traced back to ancient times. According to legend, Chongyang is the day of Yuan Di's enlightenment. The existing written records about the custom activities of Double Ninth Festival can be found in the Collection of Lv Chunqiu and Qiu Ji, which shows that during the autumn harvest in September, there have been activities of offering sacrifices to the Heavenly Emperor and ancestors to thank them for their kindness.
3. Ancient Sacrifice Ceremony to Mars
One of the prototypes of the Double Ninth Festival is the ancient fire sacrifice ceremony. Summer is called "the fire in September", and the ancients worshipped fire as a god, resulting in inexplicable fear. The dormancy of Vulcan means a long winter. Therefore, in the "internal fire" season, there should be a ceremony to welcome the fire, and people should hold a corresponding farewell ceremony.
Second, the historical evolution
The existing written records about the custom of the Double Ninth Festival were first found in Lu Chunqiu Qiu Ji Ji, which recorded the ancient people's activities of offering sacrifices to the Heaven Emperor and ancestors in September. It can be verified that Chongyang was valued by people during the Warring States Period, but it was only an activity in the palace. The Han Dynasty's Miscellanies of Xijing recorded the ancient custom of seeking longevity on the Double Ninth Festival.
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the atmosphere of the Double Ninth Festival became stronger and stronger, which was highly sought after by scholars. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the custom of appreciating chrysanthemums and drinking alcohol was widespread.
In the Tang Dynasty, the Double Ninth Festival was designated as an official festival. From then on, the court and the people celebrated the Double Ninth Festival together, and various activities were carried out during the festival. According to records, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month was officially listed as a national holiday, and the Double Ninth Festival was listed as one of the "Three Orders Festival" during the reign of Tang Dezong Shili (780 -785). ?
In the Song Dynasty, the Double Ninth Festival became more popular. Dream of China in Tokyo recorded the grand occasion of the Double Ninth Festival in the Northern Song Dynasty.
In the imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty, eunuchs and concubines began to eat flower cakes together from the first day of junior high school, and the nine-day emperor of Chongyang also went to Long Live Mountain to climb mountains to celebrate the autumn ambition.
In the Qing Dynasty, the custom of Chongyang was still popular. The custom of the Double Ninth Festival in Beijing is to stick chrysanthemum branches and leaves on the doors and windows, which means "to ward off evil spirits and eliminate filth, so as to make money and treasure".
In modern times, since 1980s, some places in China have designated the ninth day of September in the summer calendar as the festival for the elderly, advocating the whole society to establish the atmosphere of respecting, loving and helping the elderly. 1989, the China municipal government designated the ninth day of the ninth lunar month as "Day for the Elderly" and "Day for Respecting the Elderly". 20 12 On February 28th, the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), China (the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress) voted to pass the newly revised Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly. The law clearly stipulates that the ninth day of the ninth lunar month is the festival for the elderly.
In the process of inheritance and development, the Double Ninth Festival is passed down from generation to generation as a festival with rich life significance. The theme of giving a banquet to respect the elderly and praying for longevity gradually merged with the traditional filial piety ethics in China, and became one of the important themes of the Double Ninth Festival.
Reference source: Baidu Encyclopedia-Double Ninth Festival