Traditional customs of Double Ninth Festival
First, Evodia rutaecarpa and chrysanthemum
The custom of inserting Evodia rutaecarpa in the Double Ninth Festival was very common in the Tang Dynasty. The ancients thought that inserting Evodia rutaecarpa on the Double Ninth Festival could take refuge and eliminate disasters. Or wear it on your arm, or make a sachet and put it in it, or wear it on your head. Most of them are worn by women and children, and in some places, men also wear them. Ge Hong's Miscellanies of the Western Classics in the Jin Dynasty recorded that Kaunus participated in the Double Ninth Festival. Besides wearing dogwood, people also wear chrysanthemums. This happened in the Tang Dynasty and has been popular since ancient times. In the Qing Dynasty, the custom of Beijing Double Ninth Festival was to stick chrysanthemum branches and leaves on doors and windows, "to get rid of evil and filth, and to make money into treasure". This is the vulgarization of the chrysanthemum on the head. In the Song Dynasty, some people cut ribbons into dogwood and chrysanthemum and gave them to each other.
Second, drink chrysanthemum wine.
In ancient times, chrysanthemum wine was specially brewed for the Double Ninth Festival in the first year. On September 9th, pick the newly opened chrysanthemums and a little green branches and leaves, mix them with grain for brewing, and then use them together to make wine, and put them into the next September 9th for drinking. It is said that drinking this wine can prolong life. This is a festive season, autumn is crisp, chrysanthemums are in full bloom, and the windows are golden. In addition to climbing the mountain and inserting dogwood, relatives and friends also invited each other to drink chrysanthemum wine and enjoy chrysanthemums. They really had a good time. Poets, in particular, admire chrysanthemums, drink wine and recite poems as a reward, leaving many good sentences for future generations. Chrysanthemum contains health ingredients. Drinking chrysanthemum wine on the Double Ninth Festival is a traditional custom in China. Chrysanthemum wine, in ancient times, was regarded as "auspicious wine" that must be drunk on the Double Ninth Festival to pray for good luck and eliminate disasters.
Third, climb high and look far.
On the day of the Double Ninth Festival, there is a common custom among the people, that is, people should go out and look far on this day. There are two theories about its origin.
1. In ancient times, people worshipped mountain gods, thinking that "in Lao Yang in 1999, the anode will change", so on September 9th, they went to the mountain to climb high and see far, and worshipped mountain gods for good luck, which gradually evolved into an entertainment activity.
During the Double Ninth Festival, most of the autumn harvest has ended. At this time, the people are more at leisure, and the wild fruits and herbs in the mountains are also mature, so people will go up the mountain to collect wild fruits and herbs at this time, and then gradually focus their activities on the Double Ninth Festival, which has evolved into the custom of climbing high and looking far on the Double Ninth Festival.
Fourth, eat Chongyang cake.
Chongyang cake, also known as "flower cake", "chrysanthemum cake" and "hair cake", is a traditional food for the Double Ninth Festival. Five-color Caiqi Yang is inserted in the cake, and two sheep are printed on the cake, which means "Double Ninth Festival". Some places put a cake on the child's forehead at dawn on September 9, and said something in his mouth, wishing the child all the best. In other places, cakes are given as birthday gifts, which also means longevity and promotion step by step.
Five, enjoy the chrysanthemum
The Double Ninth Festival is the best time for chrysanthemums to bloom, and it is also a good time to enjoy chrysanthemums, from which we can feel the beauty of life. Perhaps the ancients just liked this tranquility, and modern life was impetuous, so people followed the example of Tao Yuanming, Shu Ren of Jin Dynasty, and lived in seclusion with chrysanthemums, and the custom of enjoying chrysanthemums spread to the world from this moment.
That's the custom of the Double Ninth Festival.
In the folk concept, because "99" and "99" are homophonic, and nine is the largest number in the number, which means long life, so the ancients thought that the Double Ninth Festival was an auspicious day to celebrate. Since 1980s, some places in China have designated the ninth day of September in the summer calendar as the "Day for the Elderly", advocating the whole society to establish the atmosphere of respecting, loving and helping the elderly.