The custom of eating flower cakes on the Double Ninth Festival in China can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. According to the then "Miscellanies of Xijing", "On September 9th, Pei Yun ate Peng bait, drank chrysanthemum wine and ate people for his life." Among them, "eating Peng bait" means eating Peng cake. "Gao" and "Gao" are homophonic, and they also mean "step by step" and "longevity", so "Chongyang Flower Cake" has become a popular holiday food.
Chongyang cake, also known as flower cake, chrysanthemum cake and five-color cake, can be made at will, including "coarse flower cake", "fine flower cake" and "money flower cake".
The cake is decorated with five-color Caiqi Yang, filled with stuffing and printed with double sheep, which means "Double Ninth Festival". The method of steaming Chongyang cake is the same as that of steaming rice cake, but the steamed cake is smaller and thinner. In order to eat beautifully, people make colorful Chongyang cakes and sprinkle some sweet-scented osmanthus on the cake surface (so Chongyang cakes are also called Osmanthus Jelly). The Chongyang cake made in this way is sweet and delicious, and everyone loves it.
Since then, many varieties of Chongyang cake have been derived, such as "Chunlan Qiuju" made of different fruit materials such as pears, oranges and jade willows; "Lion Man Cake" is made into a lion's face with chestnut color, ginkgo and pine nuts as seasonings. There is also a kind of "stone deer cake" with several deer on it, which is homophonic with the "deer" in "Fu Lushou".
Chrysanthemum wine
Chrysanthemum is in full bloom in autumn, which is frost-resistant, and has the effects of dispelling wind, improving eyesight, clearing away heat and detoxifying. Because of the legend of drinking chrysanthemum wine to become immortal in ancient times, chrysanthemum is regarded as a mascot symbolizing longevity. According to the records of ancient books, the custom of drinking chrysanthemum wine on the Double Ninth Festival has become a custom at the latest in the Western Han Dynasty, which is closely related to the custom of climbing and enjoying chrysanthemums on the Double Ninth Festival. Chrysanthemum wine is usually brewed on the Double Ninth Festival in the previous year and will be cooked in the next year.
Chrysanthemum wine, in ancient times, was regarded as the "auspicious wine" that Chongyang must drink to eliminate disasters and pray for blessings. In Ming and Qing dynasties, chrysanthemum wine was added with a variety of herbs, and its effect was better. The preparation method comprises decocting the juice with Flos Chrysanthemi, brewing with yeast and rice, or adding Radix Rehmanniae, Radix Angelicae Sinensis and Fructus Lycii. Chrysanthemum wine has high medicinal value, because it can disperse wind and heat, nourish liver and improve eyesight, diminish inflammation and detoxify. Li Shizhen, a medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty, pointed out that chrysanthemum has the efficacy of "treating head wind, clearing eyes and ears, removing fistula and treating all diseases".
Chrysanthemum wine is a wine brewed from chrysanthemum, glutinous rice and distiller's yeast, which was called "longevity wine" in ancient times. Its taste is cool and sweet, and it has the effects of nourishing liver, improving eyesight, strengthening brain and delaying aging. Chrysanthemum wine includes medlar chrysanthemum wine, flower cake chrysanthemum wine and white chrysanthemum wine.