The Double Ninth Festival (the Chongyang Festival) is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. 它有着两千多年的历史。 It usually falls in October and it falls on Oct. 4 this year (2022) . It started from the Warring States period (战国时期) and became common in the time of Tang Dynasty. In the 1980s, the Chinese government decided the Double Ninth Festival as Senior Citizens' Day. It becomes a festival of respecting for the old people, and loving, helping the old. Here are the customs (习俗) of this festival.
Climbing Mountains
Climbing mountains is a popular activity on the Chongyang festival. It is really enjoyable to take your family to a mountain to get some exercise and take in fresh air in the woods. Climbing high is also a symbol of getting better life for many people, especially the elderly.
Enjoying Chrysanthemums (菊花)
Enjoying chrysanthemums has always been a tradition during the festival. In history it was also called "the Chrysanthemum Festival", as it is the flowering time of chrysanthemums. Poets, celebrates and nobles would have a feast to write poems to enjoy the elegance (高洁) of chrysanthemums. Today, people in big cities also enjoy beautiful chrysanthemums exhibitions (展览) with their family on this day.
Wearing dogwood (茱萸)
On this day, people like to wear a special plant. It is called dogwood. People in old times believed that the plant could drive away evil spirits and stop them from catching an illness in winter.
