Double Ninth Festival

Double Ninth Festival or Chong Yang Festival or Chung Yeung Festival is a traditional festival celebrated in China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. It is called Chōyō in Japanese: 重陽, Kiku no Sekku), Jungyangjeol in Korea: 중양절, Hanja: 重陽節, and Tết Trùng Cửu in Vietnamese. It is observed on the ninth day of the ninth month of traditional Chinese calendar. This traditional Chinese holiday has been in the custom since the Eastern Han period i.e around 25 AD.

Double Ninth Festival 2023

Mon , 23rd Oct 2023

According to the “I Ching” a Chinese classic, number nine is a yang number and the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, a double nine possesses highest yang energy and is a potentially auspicious date. So, the double ninth is also referred as "Double Yang Festival" (重陽節).

History

The Double Ninth Festival is believed to have originated from ancient worship of the bright star “Antares”, also known as “Dahuo”. Worship ceremonies of this star occurs during the spring and autumn seasons, as star Antares usually appears brighter and bigger in the southern direction. Celebrating this holy star on auspicious Double Yang Day was considered to improve health and bless longevity.

What to do on Double Ninth?

Double Yang is one of the ancient sacred festivals of Chinese and Japanese origin. On this day, it is a tradition to climb/trek a high mountain, drink chrysanthemum tea or wine - the flower of the season and carry a flag of zhuyu (茱萸) plant, Cornus officinalis. Both Chrysanthemum and Zhuyu are the plants of this season and believed to possess cleansing qualities. They are used to cure physical illness and cleanse living spaces.

On this festival some people also visit the graves of their dead ancestors and pay their respects. They clean and repaint the grave & inscriptions. Also lay out special food offerings like roast suckling pig and fruits for the ancestors. After offering they are distributed among the family. Chongyang Cake is also a popular delicacy of the festival. Huge incense sticks are burned.

Other customary activities of this celebration include flying kites, making flower cakes, and inviting married daughters back home for a feast. Most people drink chrysanthemum tea, and homemade chrysanthemum wine or radish soup. Poems about chrysanthemums, Zhuyu are taught to children. Mountain climbing races, trekking competitions are also popular on this festival, a wreath made of zhuyu is offered to the winner.

Double Ninth Festival is meant to celebrate and cultivate good health, spiritual mind, and outdoor activities like carrying dogwood, hiking or going on picnics to gaze at chrysanthemum blossoms.