Double Ninth Festival is a traditional folk festival in China, which falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month every year. The number of "Nine" is a positive number in the Book of Changes, and the two positive numbers of "Nine Nine" are heavy, so it is called "Chongyang"; Because both the sun and the moon fall on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, it is also called "Double Ninth Festival". The ancients thought the Double Ninth Festival was an auspicious day. In ancient times, there were customs such as climbing mountains to pray for blessings, worshipping gods and ancestors, and drinking and praying for blessings on the Double Ninth Festival, which have been passed down to this day and added the connotation of respecting the elderly.
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, there were activities of offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors in ancient autumn. 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.
Festive traceability
The origin of the name "Chongyang" was named after "Yang is nine" in the ancient book I Ching. In the Book of Changes, "six" is defined as yin number, "nine" is defined as yang number, and "extreme number" means that the height of the sky is "nine", and "nine" is the Lao Yang and the anode. Therefore, the ancients believed that Chongyang was a happy and auspicious day, and there was a custom of drinking and praying for longevity in ancient times.
On the ninth day of September, the sun and the moon meet on the ninth day, which means that "two and nine are equal", so it is called "Double Ninth Festival" and also called "Double Ninth Festival". In the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Dai wrote "Night Sailing Boat", saying, "Nine is the yang number, and its day coincides with the month, so it is called Chongyang."