Double Ninth Festival is a traditional festival in China, which falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month every year. The Double Ninth Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from the sacrifice after the ancient autumn harvest. The traditional customs of the Double Ninth Festival are: climbing mountains, enjoying autumn, enjoying chrysanthemums, hanging gourds, wearing dogwood, flying kites, eating double ninth cake, drinking chrysanthemum wine, being grateful and respecting the elderly, etc. I think among the many customs of the Double Ninth Festival, six are most worth mentioning. Let's take a look:
? One of the traditional customs of Double Ninth Festival: hanging gourd?
There is a traditional custom of hanging gourds on the Double Ninth Festival. According to folk rumors, when the drug king came down to earth, poisonous insects were rampant and plagues were everywhere. In order to save all beings, he put his magic medicine in a gourd and hung it at everyone's door to kill insects, reduce the plague and save all beings. So he left the geomantic custom of hanging gourds at the gate of the Double Ninth Festival.
On the Double Ninth Festival, people will hang all kinds of gourds at the door to ward off evil spirits. Obsidian gourd has the best effect. Among the ancient Buddhist relics, quite a few are obsidian relics or Buddha statues about town houses or avoiding evil spirits.
? The second traditional custom of Double Ninth Festival: Climbing the Mountain?
In ancient times, Chongyang had the folk custom of climbing, so Chongyang Festival was also called "Climbing Festival". According to legend, this custom began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. There are many climbing poems written by scholars in the Tang Dynasty, most of which are about the custom of writing the Double Ninth Festival: Du Fu's ten methods "Climbing the Mountain" is a famous article about climbing the Double Ninth Mountain. There are no uniform rules except climbing mountains and towers. Many people will choose to climb mountains in the Double Ninth Festival, so it is also called "Mountaineering Festival". There is no uniform rule for climbing mountains. Generally, we climb mountains and towers. Especially on a special day, it is even more enjoyable, that is, the mountaineering festival of the Double Ninth Festival.
The ancients climbed mountains from a legend in the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Fei Changfang, an immortal of the later Han Dynasty, said to his disciple Huan Jing one day, "On September 9th, there will be disaster in your home. If you bring the whole family, everyone will put dogwood in a red bag and hang it on their arms, and drink chrysanthemum wine when climbing the mountain, so you can avoid disaster. " Huan Jing took the whole family to the mountains on September 9 as the master said. When he got home at night, he saw that all the poultry and livestock in the family died suddenly. He knew that what his master said was true, and he and his family had escaped. Later generations passed it down from generation to generation, and regarded September 9 as a time to climb mountains to avoid disasters and get together by drinking, which gradually became a custom.
Another fact is that climbing Chongyang originated from the worship of mountain gods in ancient times. Believe that mountain gods can save people from disaster. The ancients thought that "nine is Lao Yang, and the anode will change", and the number of Lao Yang on September 9th was both a month and a day, which was unlucky. Therefore, people must go to the mountains to avoid disasters on the Double Ninth Festival. At first, people had to worship mountain gods for peace and good luck, and later it gradually evolved into a custom activity.
? The third traditional custom of Double Ninth Festival: Double Ninth Cake?
There is also the traditional custom of eating "Chongyang cake". Chongyang Cake, also known as Flower Cake or Chongyang Flower Cake, is a traditional festival cake in China. The custom of eating cakes in September originated very early. It was called "bait" in Han dynasty, and its raw material was millet. Millet is the length of grain, and it was a good product for entertaining guests and offering sacrifices in ancient times. In September, when the millet is ripe, it is sacrificed to ancestors first. The predecessor of Chongyang cake is tasting new food in September, which is also the origin of the autumn festival custom of offering Chongyang cake to the gods and ancestors.
According to historical records, Chongyang cake, also known as flower cake, chrysanthemum cake and five-color cake, is made randomly. At the dawn of September 9, it was the original intention of the ancients to make cakes in September by putting a cake on the child's head and saying something in his mouth, wishing the child all the best. Exquisite Chongyang cake should be made into nine layers, like a pagoda, with two lambs on it, which conforms to the meaning of Chongyang (sheep). Some people even put red paper flags on Chongyang cakes and light candles. This may mean "lighting a lamp" and "eating cake" instead of "climbing high" and using a small red paper flag instead of Huang Zhu. Up to now, there is still no fixed variety of Chongyang cake, and the soft cakes and rice eaten around the Double Ninth Festival are called Chongyang cakes.
? The fourth traditional custom of Double Ninth Festival: enjoying chrysanthemum and drinking chrysanthemum wine?
The Double Ninth Festival is the golden autumn season of the year, and chrysanthemums are in full bloom. It is said that appreciating chrysanthemum and drinking chrysanthemum wine originated from Tao Yuanming, a great poet in Jin Dynasty. Tao Yuanming is famous for his seclusion. His poems, his wine and his love for chrysanthemums will be used for reference by future generations, so he has the custom of enjoying chrysanthemums on Double Ninth Festival. In the old days, in order to get closer to Tao Yuanming, ten literati doctors also combined chrysanthemum appreciation with banquets.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng was the capital, and chrysanthemum appreciation on Chongyang was popular. At that time, there were many varieties and shapes of chrysanthemums. People also call September of the lunar calendar "Chrysanthemum Month". On the Double Ninth Festival, chrysanthemums are in full bloom in Ao Shuang, and viewing chrysanthemums has become an important part of the festival. After the Qing Dynasty, Chang Ju's practice flourished especially, and his vision was not limited to September 9th. But it is still the most prosperous before and after the Double Ninth Festival.
? The fifth traditional custom of double ninth festival: Pei dogwood?
In ancient times, there was a traditional custom of inserting dogwood on September 9, so the Double Ninth Festival is also called the dogwood Festival. Cornus officinalis has a strong fragrance, which has the functions of expelling insects, dehumidifying and expelling wind, and also has the functions of promoting digestion and resolving food stagnation and treating cold and heat. It can be used as medicine and wine for health preservation and disease elimination. Therefore, on the Double Ninth Festival, people have the custom of wearing Cornus officinalis or inserting Cornus officinalis when climbing high and looking far. They can also give Cornus officinalis as a gift to relatives and friends to ward off evil spirits, seek good luck and prolong life. Huang Ju, as a medicine, can make wine to strengthen the body and eliminate diseases. People think that September 9th is also a day of disaster, so people like to wear Huang Zhu on the Double Ninth Festival to ward off evil spirits and seek good luck. Therefore, Huang Zhu is also known as the "evil ghost".
On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, there is an auspicious meaning of "appropriate for a long time". At the end of the Han Dynasty, Cao Pi said in September and Zhong You: "The New Year is from September to September, and suddenly to September 9. Nine is the yang number, and the sun and the moon should be in harmony. It is a common name, so it should last for a long time, so it is necessary to enjoy a banquet (that is, a climbing meeting). " Therefore, it has gradually become a folk custom for women to tie dogwood bags on their arms.
? The sixth traditional custom of Double Ninth Festival: basking in autumn?
"Sunbathing in autumn" is a typical agricultural custom phenomenon with strong regional characteristics. In some places, the annual Double Ninth Festival has also begun to enter the autumn dry season, and grand traditional customs are held to dry the autumn dry.
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". "Sunbathing in autumn" is a typical agricultural custom phenomenon. Villagers in mountainous areas have to use the roofs and windowsills in front of and behind their houses to hang crops, because their villages have complex terrain and few flat land.
For people living in mountainous areas, the terrain here is very complicated. Even in inhabited villages, there is little flat land. If you are drying crops, you can only make full use of the front and back of the house, or the windowsill and roof of your own house. After a long time, very traditional agricultural customs have naturally formed. Generally speaking, the Double Ninth Festival refers to villagers drying crops, which is a special life scene and way. Later, under the works of photographers and painters, sunbathing in autumn became a rich source of their materials, and they also called this agricultural custom poetic, that is, sunbathing in autumn.
However, it should be reminded that the autumn in the sun does not mean autumn, but refers to the harvested fruits and crops. In fact, the traditional agricultural custom of sunbathing exists not only in autumn, but also all year round. It's just that autumn is a harvest season, there are more kinds of crops, and the scope and scale of sunbathing in autumn are richer and larger, so it attracts people's attention more.
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.