What are the origins, customs, and legends of the Chung Yeung Festival?

The Double Ninth Festival is a traditional Chinese folk festival that is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month every year. In ancient times, the folk had the customs of climbing high to pray for blessings, enjoying chrysanthemums in autumn, wearing dogwoods, worshipping gods and ancestors, and drinking feasts to seek longevity during the Double Ninth Festival. In ancient times, the folk had the customs of climbing high to pray for blessings, enjoying chrysanthemums in autumn, wearing dogwoods, worshipping gods and ancestors, and drinking feasts to seek longevity during the Double Ninth Festival.

Inherited so far, it has added connotations such as respect for the elderly, and enjoyed a banquet on the day of Chongyang to be grateful and respect for the elderly. Climbing to appreciate autumn and thanksgiving and respecting the elderly are the two important themes of today's Chung Yeung Festival activities.

On the ninth day of September, the homonym of "Jiujiu" is "long-term", which means long-term, so it is often used on this day to worship ancestors and carry out activities to respect the elderly. The Double Ninth Festival, the three festivals of the Qing Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty are also the four major festivals of ancestor worship in traditional Chinese festivals.

Double Ninth Festival (also known as: Old People's Day), on the ninth day of September of the lunar calendar every year, is a traditional festival of the Han nationality, because the "Book of Changes" sets "six" as the yin number, and the "nine" as the yang number, on the ninth day of September, the sun and the moon are yang, and the two nines are heavy, so it is called the double yang, also called the heavy nine. The Double Ninth Festival was formed as early as the Warring States Period, and in the Tang Dynasty, the Double Ninth Festival was officially designated as a folk festival, and it has been followed by successive dynasties since then.

The folk have the custom of ascending on that day, so the Double Ninth Festival is also called the "Ascending Festival", in addition to the dogwood festival, chrysanthemum festival and other sayings. When celebrating the Chung Yeung Festival, people generally climb high, admire chrysanthemums, drink chrysanthemum wine, insert dogwoods, and eat cakes. In addition, because the homonym of "ninety-nine" on the ninth day of September is "long-term", which has the meaning of long-term, it is often used to worship ancestors and carry out activities of respecting the elderly and revering filial piety on this day.

Folklore: Ascending to find the nine-section calamus: Legend has it that the custom of climbing the height of the Double Ninth Festival began when Qin Shi Huang ordered the warlock Zheng Anqi to go to Lingnan to find the elixir of life.

Climbing the mountain brought back thunder and lightning: The ancients believed that the mountain was covered with clouds and mist, and it was inhabited by the dragon who called for wind and rain and thunder and lightning. In addition, the thunder and lightning of the mountains can bring fire, and you can use the fire to eat cooked food that melts the shame.

The Double Ninth Festival in early September is also known as the "Double Nine Festival" or "Old Man's Day". On this day, the Chongyang Festival activities are extremely rich, including climbing, appreciating chrysanthemums, drinking chrysanthemum wine, flying kites, eating Chongyang cakes, and plugging dogwoods. The Chung Yeung Festival, which originated in the Warring States Period, was originally a joyous day.

The ancients classified all things in heaven and earth into two categories: yin represents darkness and yang represents light and life.

The meaning of Chung Yeung Festival is the meaning of longevity, and it carries people's blessings for the health and longevity of the elderly.

Chongyang Festival, Chinese New Year's Eve, Spring Festival, Qingming, Dragon Boat Festival, July and a half are all traditional Chinese ancestor worship festivals, and ancestor worship is a major theme of the main festivals. Ancient China belonged to an agrarian society, and agricultural civilization was a form of civilization that attached great importance to the experience of ancestors.

In the process of historical continuation, the Chung Yeung Festival not only integrates many folk events, but also integrates many cultural connotations, and is a traditional Chinese festival that integrates a variety of folk customs. The celebration of Chung Yeung Festival generally includes activities such as traveling to enjoy the scenery, climbing high and overlooking the distance, watching chrysanthemums, picking Chinese herbal medicines, planting dogwoods, setting up banquets for the elderly, eating Chung Yeung cakes, pharmaceutical wine for health, drinking chrysanthemum wine, etc.

The Chung Yeung Festival is the best time to enjoy autumn, and there are still some mountain villages in southern China that retain the characteristics of "basking in autumn". Going to the countryside to appreciate folk customs and watch the autumn has become a fashion for rural tourism. "Basking in autumn" is a typical agricultural phenomenon with strong regional characteristics.

Chung Yeung Festival is one of the important traditional Chinese festivals, usually celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month (the solar calendar varies from year to year). There are various ways to celebrate this holiday, which includes the consumption of some special food items.

The following are common foods for Chung Yeung Festival:

1 Chrysanthemum wine: Chrysanthemum wine is a traditional Chung Yeung Festival drink, which is made by soaking dried chrysanthemums in liquor, and after a period of time, the wine has the aroma and taste of chrysanthemums.

2 Chongyang Cake: Chongyang cake is a traditional pastry that is usually made from glutinous rice flour, bean paste, jujube paste, etc. When eating chongyang cake, people usually cut the cake into nine small pieces, which represents longevity and auspiciousness.

3 Chrysanthemum cake: Chrysanthemum cake is a pastry made from chrysanthemums, and its main ingredients are glutinous rice flour, eggs, sugar, and chrysanthemums. To make it, chrysanthemum petals are boiled and mashed, mixed with other ingredients, and steamed, making a pastry with a chrysanthemum fragrance.

4 Hawthorn: Hawthorn is one of the traditional foods of Chung Yeung Festival because it is rich in vitamin C and other beneficial nutrients that it is able to.

Helps to strengthen the body's immunity and prevent diseases.

In addition to the above foods, people will also carry out activities such as climbing and viewing chrysanthemums during the Chung Yeung Festival to express their wishes for life and health, and also take the opportunity to reunite with family and friends and spend quality time together.