The significance of this festival can be traced back to ancient times. At that time, people thought that nine was a positive number, so they chose to worship their ancestors and sweep graves on the ninth day of September to pray for peace and a bumper harvest. With the passage of time, this festival has gradually evolved into a festival with cultural connotations, including traditional customs such as climbing mountains and enjoying chrysanthemums. Now, the Double Ninth Festival on the first day of September has become a legal holiday, and people will take this opportunity to reunite with their families, worship their ancestors and sweep graves, and do some outdoor activities.
The Double Ninth Festival originated from the worship of astronomical phenomena, which began in ancient times, spread in the Western Han Dynasty and flourished after the Tang Dynasty. According to the existing historical data and textual research, in ancient times, there were activities of offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors in the autumn and the season; The ancients offered sacrifices to the Emperor and ancestors when the crops were harvested in September, which was an activity to thank the Emperor and ancestors for their kindness. This is the original form of the Double Ninth Festival as an autumn harvest sacrifice activity. The Tang Dynasty is an important period when traditional festival customs are mixed and shaped, and its main part has been passed down to this day.
Another name for Double Ninth Festival
1, Gauteng Festival
In ancient times, there was the custom of climbing on the Double Ninth Festival, so it was also called "Climbing Festival". The custom of "climbing the mountain" on the Double Ninth Festival is also intrinsically related to Taoism's "ascending to heaven and becoming immortal" on September 9. In Taoist culture, the Double Ninth Festival is the best time to ascend to heaven and become immortal, so Taoist legends often choose September 9 as "Ascending to Heaven and Becoming Immortal".
2. Prayer for Life Day
The Double Ninth Festival has the custom of holding a banquet to pray for longevity, which places people's blessings on the health and longevity of the elderly. The custom of feasting and praying for longevity on the Double Ninth Festival was widely circulated in ancient times.
3, ancestor worship festival
Double Ninth Festival, New Year's Eve, Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and July 30th are all traditional festivals in China, and ancestor worship is a major theme of major festivals. China was a farming society and agricultural civilization in ancient times, and attached great importance to the experience of ancestors. Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has the concept of courtesy and respect for ancestors, and has the custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors on holidays to show filial piety and not forget their roots.