Flower cakes and chestnut cakes on the Double Ninth Festival.
There are two kinds of snacks in Beijing, one is flower cake and the other is chestnut cake.
Flower cake, also called chestnut cake. The production method is to steam the Jiangmi noodles with water, wrap the steamed Jiangmi noodles with a drawer cloth dipped in water, knead them evenly until smooth, and divide them into four pieces, then pat them into pieces with a thickness of 2 cm, put them on a chopping board, spread a layer of bean stuffing, spread another layer of Jiangmi noodles, and so on for three or four layers, then spread the cooked chestnuts, peach kernels and melon seeds on them, and finally sprinkle shredded Beijing cakes and green plums. Whether it looks or tastes, it is similar to a multi-layered cake. In the early years, Zhimeizhai and Guixinzhai in Sipailou in eastern Beijing made the most famous flower cakes.
Chestnut cake is made of chestnut paste as the main raw material. The specific method is: peel the raw chestnuts, steam them, mash them into mud, divide them into three parts, spread one part as the bottom, then spread a layer of Beijing cake, another layer of chestnut paste, another layer of sand stuffing, and finally spread the third chestnut paste on them. Then, cut into small pieces of Beijing cake slices and shredded green plums are used to make various patterns. This made a chestnut cake with five layers of yellow, red and brown. When eating, pour the sugar juice made of white sugar and osmanthus.
The custom of eating flower cakes on the Double Ninth Festival in China can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. According to Xijing Miscellanies at that time, "On September 9th, Pei Yun ate bait, drank chrysanthemum wine, ate people and lived a long life." Among them, "eating Peng bait" means eating Peng cake. Speaking of eating Chongyang cake on the ninth day of September, there is an old legend among the people: in ancient times, there lived a simple and kind farmer on a high mountain somewhere. One day, when he was plowing the land, he met an old man. The old man told him that his home would be in trouble on the ninth day of September and he had to move to a higher place. The higher he moves, the better. The farmer was dubious and hesitant, and finally made up his mind on the morning of the ninth day of September to move his family to the mountains. Not far away, a fire broke out in the original home, and the fire spread upward with the wind. In order to avoid the fire, he and his family climbed the mountain until they reached the top. Since then, it has become a custom to climb mountains on the ninth day of September to avoid disasters. Later, for convenience, it gradually evolved into the custom of "eating cakes" on this day in order to avoid disaster.
Three Dietary Customs of Double Ninth Festival
In ancient times, the third day of the third lunar month was called the Spring Festival and the first episode. September 9th is a big festival in autumn, called Double Ninth Festival. In the past, Tomb-Sweeping Day gradually replaced it, but March 3rd is still an important festival for Zhuang, Li and She nationalities. September 9, because the moon and the day are the same, it is autumn, and people have always attached importance to it. The Book of Changes defines "nine" as yang number, and "nine" is the largest yang number. Erjiu phase is called "double ninth" and Eryang phase is called "double ninth", which can cause many associations. The Mid-Autumn Festival has passed and the seasons have changed, which has triggered people's sighs about life and the intersection of various emotions, making the Double Ninth Festival develop into an entertainment-oriented festival. There are three folk customs of holiday food, commonly known as "three treasures".
First, Chongyang should drink "chrysanthemum wine". Jiujiu is homophonic with "Jiujiu" and also homophonic with "wine", so it is deduced that Jiujiu should drink chrysanthemum wine. September is autumn in Ao Shuang. Literati call September "Chrysanthemum Moon", people call chrysanthemum "Nine Flowers", and Beijing regards chrysanthemum as one of the city flowers. Because of its unique cold resistance, chrysanthemum has become a symbol of vitality. It has extraordinary cultural significance in the ancients, and is considered as "longevity-prolonging guest" and "old grass", which can make people grow old and strong.
Second, eat flower cakes. Respect the elderly on the Double Ninth Festival and climb high to avoid disasters. "Gao" and "Gao" are homophonic, and they also mean "step by step" and "long life", so "Chongyang Flower Cake" has become a popular holiday food. In the crisp autumn, people climb high to bid farewell to youth, taste flower cakes, admire chrysanthemums and recite Tao Yuanming's poems, and hold various activities to respect the elderly, which is full of human affection. In southern China, there is a custom of inserting dogwood to exorcise evil spirits on the Double Ninth Festival, while in Beijing, respect for the elderly is the main content, so there are many chrysanthemums and few people insert dogwood.
Third, eat mutton noodles. "Sheep" and "Yang" are homophonic, which should be the code name of Chongyang. If you want to eat white flour, "white" means "100" minus the top "1", which means that 100 minus 1 is 99, in line with the code name of "99". The birthday of a 99-year-old man in Beijing is called "Bai Shou". Wealthy families can hold mutton-based banquets on the same day, such as fried, roasted, rinsed and even whole sheep seats. Autumn is the fattest season for sheep, and mutton is warm and can keep out the cold.