Chongyang Festival,falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, because of which,it is also named as the Double-ninth Festival, which has a history of some 2,000 years. As an important festival in ancient China, Chongyang Festival was celebrated by holding various activities, such as climbing mountains, appreciating chrysanthemums, wearing cornel and eating Chongyang cakes. Climbing mountains is a major custom in Chongyang Festival. Ancient people thought climbing mountains on this day could help them avoid misfortune and prevent disasters. In recent years, a new meaning has been given to the old festival,and it gradually becomes an annual Seniors’ Day, on which various activities are held in honor of senior people.
重阳节,由于它是在中国农历九月初九这一天,所以又被称为重九节,至今有约两千年的历史。在中国古代,重阳节是一个重要的节日,这一天要举行各种庆祝活动,如:登高、赏菊(chrysanthemum )、插茱萸(cornel)、吃重阳糕等。登髙是重阳节的主要习俗。古人认为,在这一天登高可以避祸免灾。近年来,这个古老的节日被赋予新的含义,逐渐成为开展各种敬老活动、一年一度的“老年节”。
The 9th day of the 9th lunar month is the traditional Chongyang Festival, or Double Ninth Festival.
It usually falls in October in the Gregorian calendar. In an ancient and mysterious book Yi Jing, or The Book of Changes, number 6 was thought to be of Yin character, meaning feminine or negative, while number 9 was thought to be Yang, meaning masculine or positive.
So the number nine in both month and day create the Double Ninth Festival, or Chongyang Festival. Chong in Chinese means double.
Also, as double ninth was pronounced the same as the word to signify forever, both are Jiu Jiu, the Chinese ancestors considered it an auspicious day worth celebration. That's why ancient Chinese began to celebrate this festival long time ago.
农历九月九日,为传统的重阳节。因为古老的《易经》中把六定为阴数,把九定为阳数,九月九日,日月并阳,两九相重,故而叫重阳,也叫重九,古人认为是个值得庆贺的吉利日子,并且从很早就开始过此节日。
在古代,民间在重阳有登高的风俗,故重阳节又叫登高节。相传此风俗始于东汉。唐代文人所写的登高诗很多,大多是写重阳节的习俗;杜甫的七律《登高》,就是写重阳登高的名篇。登高所到之处,没有划一的规定,一般是登高山、登高塔。