The annual Chongyang Festival is a festival for the elderly, and filial children will always buy a few pieces of Chongyang cake for the elderly on this day. However, due to the increasing number of geriatric diseases pestering our elders, eat Chongyang cake should also have some scruples Professor Tong Bende, director of the nutritional department of the Changzheng Hospital affiliated with the Second Military Medical University, pointed out that the Chongyang cake as a kind of snacks, should not be eaten on an empty stomach. Chongyang cake is a class of high-carbohydrate, high-fat, low-protein food, eaten on an empty stomach, will prompt excessive secretion of gastric acid, causing acidity, and even heartburn and other situations, especially stomach patients, more likely to induce morbidity.

In the process of making Chongyang cake, in order to make the cake sweet and savory, usually put more sugar and even lard, and commonly used materials glutinous rice, and is not easy to digest the food, so many people will not be suitable for eating Chongyang cake, Prof. Tong reminded that the following groups of people in the consumption of Chongyang cake should pay attention to, should be eaten sparingly, cautiously, or not eat. The descendants of the Chongyang Festival day, there is the habit of eating "Chongyang cake". That is because there is no mountain where there is no high to climb, some people think of eating cakes by climbing high. Eat cake instead of climbing, said step by step higher. The cake was named "Chongyang Gao" because it was eaten exclusively on Chongyang. During the Tang Dynasty, Liu Yuxi was afraid to use the word "cake" in his poems, so the Chongyang Festival was given an allusion to the "cake". In the Shao's Wenshi Wenshi Houluo (Record of Shao's Wenshi Wenshi), it is written: "Liu Mengde wrote a poem on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month, and he wanted to use the word "cake", but he dropped the poem because there was no such word in the Wujing (The Five Classics)." In this way, only by Song Qi joked: "Liu Lang dare not inscribe the word cake, false negative poetry in a generation of ho."

Anciently, Chongyang cake is very delicate, cake embedded with candied fruit, jujube preserves. At the beginning, the wind is tight, and it is a good season to fly kites. Therefore, people at this time, have traveled to the countryside to fly kites. Ancient Chrysanthemum Festival or horseback riding practice, martial arts practice shooting festival. The Rituals - Monthly Order" recorded in the ancient emperors in September hunting and practicing martial arts system. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Chongyang Festival was a festival for military drills. According to the book of south qi said, song emperor liu yu usurped jin to establish a dynasty before, in today's xuzhou land, the chrysanthemum festival riding on horseback xiang yu play horse platform, after the throne on the provisions of the ninth of september for horseback riding and archery, review of the army's date. Legend has it that the now popular Chongyang cake evolved from the dry food given to the soldiers of the three armies back then. When Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty, it was stipulated that "two solstices", "on the Si" and "September 9" were the three festivals of the year. From then on, the customary activities of the Chongyang Festival, but also the popularity of the whole country. At the same time in the Chongyang climb, Emperor Dezong of Tang also encouraged people to talk about martial arts and practice shooting, exercise horsemanship. This style has been inherited until the Qing Dynasty. Until the Republic of China, at that time, had diffused the significance of the Chrysanthemum Sun Yat-sen to practice martial arts, set September 9 for the "Sports Festival'.

In the past, the Chung Yeung Festival to pick up married daughters to go home for the festival, so it is also known as the "Daughter's Day". September 9, coincidentally, two nine meet, "nine" and long "long" homophonic, is a symbol of longevity, so our government in recent years and September 9 as the "Festival of the Elderly," also known as the "Respect for the Elderly Day". In our country, respect for the elderly has become a trend, respect for the elderly, filial piety and respect for the elderly has always been the fine tradition of the Chinese nation. This traditional virtue is also reflected in the festival customs. Chongyang food and drink style, in addition to the aforementioned drinking dogwood, chrysanthemum wine, eat chrysanthemum food, there are a number of, the most famous is to eat cake. In the north, the wind of eating Chongyang cake is especially prevalent.

According to the "Xijing Miscellany", the Han Dynasty, there has been a September 9 to eat the custom of pong bait, that is, the original Chongyang cake. Bait, that is, the ancient cake. Zhouli" bait used as a sacrifice or eaten at banquets. The Han Dynasty also recorded a millet cake, may not be far from today's cake. Peng bait, must also be similar to the millet cake and so on. To the Song Dynasty, eat Chung Yeung cake style flourished. Cake and high harmony, eat cake is to take the meaning of good luck, and therefore favored by the people.

Stick some coriander leaves as a sign, the middle of the fruits, small dates, walnuts and other brown dried fruit; fine flower cake has three layers, two layers, each layer of the middle of the finer candied fruits, such as dried apples, dried peaches, dried apricots, Jujubes, and so on; money flower cake and fine flower cake is basically the same, but a smaller, as "money" one, mostly from the upper-class families. like, is mostly the food of the upper class aristocracy.

It is said that in the early years, not at home with the hairy cake sandwiched between dates, chestnuts and other fruits, or river rice, yellow rice flour steamed into a sticky cake, like "on the gold", "under the silver" of the flower cake.

The legend of eating Chongyang cake

Legend has it that Kang Hai, the scholar of the Ming Dynasty, was a native of Wugong, Shaanxi Province. He participated in the countryside examination in August, lying sick in Chang'an, August after the release of the list of the decree, the news of the newspaper will be happy to send the news to the Wugong, but at this time, Kang Hai has not yet arrived at home. No one at home to pay the reward, the newspaper refused to go, must wait until Kang Hai back. When Kang Hai got well and came home, it was already the Chung Yeung Festival. At this time he sent the newspaper, gave him the reward money, and steamed a pot of cakes for his return trip as dry food. And steamed some more cakes to the neighbors. Because the cake was used to celebrate Kang Hai won the first prize, so later there are sons and daughters of the family school, also in the Chongyang Festival steamed cake distribution, for a good omen. This is how the custom of eating cakes on Chongyang Festival spread. Chrysanthemum cake, also known as flower cake or Chrysanthemum flower cake, is China's traditional holiday cakes; as the name suggests, it is the festival of the Chrysanthemum Festival on the ninth day of the ninth month of the summer calendar. The way this cake is made and eaten varies from place to place, and there are many different stories about its origin and folk cultural symbolism.

It is generally believed that the cake originated from the custom of ascending the heights on the Chongyang Festival. According to Wu Jun's "Qi Harmony Records" of the Southern Liang Dynasty, during the Han Dynasty, Huan Jing, a native of Ru Nan, studied immortality under Fei Changfang. One day, Fei Changfang told his student: on September 9, there will be a catastrophe coming to your house, so you can teach your family to sew a cloth bag with cornelian cherry, tie it to your arm, and then climb up the mountain to drink chrysanthemum wine, and the catastrophe can be eliminated. Huanjing acted according to his words, and was indeed unhurt. Later generations followed suit and formed a whole set of Chrysanthemum Festival customs such as climbing high mountains, drinking chrysanthemum wine and inserting dogwood on the ninth day of the ninth month of the ninth month of the ninth lunar month. About since the Song Dynasty, Chongyang Festival food "Chongyang cake" custom formally seen in the books, such as Wu Zimu "Dream sorghum record" Volume 5 of Lin'an (Hangzhou) Chongjiu custom: "this day, the people's stores to sugar steamed cake ...... inserted a small colorful flags, the name of the 'Chongyang cake'. Chongyang Cake'." Later, such as Ming Liu Dong, Yu Yizheng "Imperial Beijing Scenery" Volume II also contains Beijing's custom of the 9th: "cake shop standard paper color flag, said 'flower cake flag'." This small flag inserted in the flower cake on the tradition, so far not changed. Degree of its original intention, is the general public because of the urban landscape and the limitations of the material resources, want to climb high to avoid trouble or collection of cornelian cherry more inconvenience, so instead of eating cake to climb high (cake), to insert the paper flag instead of inserting cornelian cherry, by harmonizing with the story of the ear, the intention is still in the avoidance of trouble.

One of the cultural significance of the cake focuses on the word "cake", that is, the harmonies and the harmonies of the various condiments used to make the cake, the performance of the blessing of good luck. Such as Ming Xie Zhaojing "five mixed chopping block" cited Song Lv Yuan Ming "time of the year," said the folk custom, on the ninth day of the ninth month of September, "when the sky is bright, with a piece of cake on the children's forehead, more wishes that: 'I wish the children all things are high.' This is the ancient meaning of nine days of cake". Song anonymous "chronicle of the year" said "September 9 to flour steamed cake, placed on a number of deer, the number of 'food Lu cake'", has seen the cake of the accessories and ornaments of the harmonic expression. "Imperial Beijing Scenery" and other customs and historical materials have Chung Yeung day "parents will welcome the female to eat flower cake" record, folk popular "September 9, move back to the girl rest hand" proverb, eat flower cake in the date, chestnut, melon seeds (kernel) and other condiments or cake on the surface of the "barbaric king lion" (Song Zhou Mi, "Qianchun years and times - Chung Yeung") and other patterns, implying that the young woman to the mother's family begging for an early son of the blessing of the motives for good luck. All of these, are "the ancient meaning of nine days for the cake".

The custom of eating cake on the ninth day of September has been popular in the Tang Dynasty, "Liu Bingjiajiu" contains Yuan De Shi because of his father's taboo high and dare not go with the "Nine days out of the cake" of the custom of jokes; "Tang Sixth Canon - Department of meals", there is also a "September 9, Ma Ge Cake" record, but the name of the Festival of the Chongyang Festival. The reason is solid as Sui Du Daiqing "jade candles BaoDian" cloud: "the time of corn and broomcorn millet and harvest, in order to sticky rice JiaYi, touching the taste of the new, and then become a habit." That is to say, the ancients to the September millet grain maturity, and therefore used to steam for a pastry class of food offerings to ancestors and recommend God to taste the new, Lv Yuanming "times and years," said "the two societies (i.e., spring and autumn societies), Chung Yeung Shang cake food, and Chung Yeung for the prevalence of", can be depicted as a prototype of Chung Yeung cake is the predecessor in the spring and autumn of two societies in the offerings used to enjoy the gods of the ancestors. And according to the "Sui book - five lines of Zhi" contained in the North and South Dynasties, folk "July mowing hurt early, September eat cake just right," the rhyme, I know that this custom from a long time ago, only to the Tang and Song dynasties, with the popularity of the Chongyang Festival custom, only to evolve into the festival's proprietary food. However, the meaning of its folklore to celebrate the fall into the still survive for a long time, view Lu You "spinning pressure wheat cake invited the father and the old man" of the poem and Lu's "two social ...... Shang cake food" records can be proved.

There is also a saying that the origin of the Chongyang cake is the pre-Qin food "Peng bait". "Peng" that is, ponzi, artemisia plants; "bait" that is, rich in viscous food, modern Chinese dictionary more than interpreted as "cake", because it is known that ponzi bait is mixed with ponzi and rice flour made of cake-like food. Jin Ge Hong "Xijing Miscellany" Volume 3 of Han Gaozu Liu Bang's maid recalled the old events in the palace, there is a "September 9 ...... food pon bait" of the words, presumably this custom will not begin in the early Han Dynasty, when the tradition of pre-Qin. Rituals - within the rules": "shooting people to sang arc, Peng Yai six, shooting heaven and earth in all directions." Kong Yingda said: "Peng is the grass to protect against chaos." This understanding, with the "Xijing Miscellany" Volume 3, said "eat Peng bait to purify the evil" interpretation of the conjunction. Therefore, it is known that the original meaning of the September 9 food Peng bait is to drive away evil spirits, and this custom evolved into the Song Dynasty, after the Chung Yeung food cake, its original meaning has been obliterated.

There is also a saying, found in Dunhuang Tang Dynasty volume "Miscellaneous copy" (S5755), is that in ancient times, Emperor ?ào had a son named Yao, eight years old as the Tang Marquis, December 8 ascension. On the ninth day of the ninth month of a certain year, Tang Yao called a meeting of all the lords of the world and entertained them with noodles, rice and wine. Before the rice and noodles were delivered, Emperor ?aúTi died. The officials then elected Tang Yao to succeed the throne. Since he could not drink wine due to the mourning for Emperor ?a?, he used white rice and hu ma to make white rice dough, cakes and other foodstuffs, which were eaten by all the lords when they paid their respects to the new lord. Since then, white rice dough and cakes have become the exclusive food on the ninth day of the ninth month, "not to be cut off". Some people think that the "Tang six canon - dietary department" so-called September 9 "Ma Guo cake", is evolved from this white rice dough and cakes; and "recipe" said "Zhang hand beauty of the family Chongjiu (made) rice cake", the raw materials taken for the rice flour, hemp, etc., just different production method ear. According to this, the original meaning of the cake on September 9 seems to be a commemoration of Tang Yao's ascension to the throne.

In addition, China's southern Yi, Bai, Dong, She, Buyi, Tujia, Mulao and other minority compatriots also have a festival on the ninth day of the ninth month and ate cakes and cakes of a viscous food habits, but the relevant customary customs and legends are different. Such as Guizhou Jinping, Jianhe, Tianzhu around the Dong people, over the Chongyang Festival to play sticky rice to eat, rumored to commemorate the Dong national hero Jiang Yingfang led the insurgents against the government victory; and Xiangxi Tujia festival to play sticky rice, there is to ward off the evil and avoid disasters. In short, a variety of different, difficult to unify, this piece of cake eat in the end what is the significance of the Chongyang cake, we have to rely on each person's perception to recognize.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is just over, and then there is the Chung Yeung Festival,

and the flower cakes are busy everywhere.

There are many dates and corn in the double layer of the cake,

and I was proud of Liu Lang when I wrote a sentence on the cake.

The Cake on the Ninth Day

The light frost of the Bikkun's dawn robe,

and the dry rice cake and flowers were drinking in a bucket.

Liu Lang didn't dare to inscribe the word "cake"

It was an empty burden to the poet.

Food from the Old Capital: A Rhapsody in White

The good fruits are embedded in jujubes as mud,

and the feast of cakes at the Chung Yeung Festival is a funny thing.

It is a good idea to write new poems on the way up,

Why does Liu Lang not dare to write them?