Double Ninth Festival

Double Ninth Festival
Chai Wan Cemetery, Hong Kong, 2015
Observed byChinese, Japanese, Koreans[1]
Date9th day of the 9th lunisolar month
2023 date23 October
2024 date11 October
2025 date29 October
2026 date18 October
FrequencyAnnual
Double Ninth Festival
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese重陽節
Simplified Chinese重阳节
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinChóngyáng jié
Wade–GilesCh'ung2-yang2 chieh2
IPA[ʈʂʰʊ̌ŋ.jǎŋ tɕjě]
Wu
SuzhouneseZon yan tsih
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationChùhng-yèuhng jit
JyutpingCung4-joeng4 zit3
Southern Min
Tâi-lôTiông-iông-tsueh
Korean name
Hangul중양절[1][2]
Transcriptions
Revised RomanizationJungyangjeol
Japanese name
Kanji重陽の節句[3]
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnChōyō no Sekku
Chrysanthemum Festival
Japanese name
Kanji菊の節句
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnKiku no Sekku

The Double Ninth Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday observed on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese calendar. According to Wu Jun, it dates back to the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD).[1]

According to the I Ching, nine is a yang number; the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese calendar (or double nine) has extra yang (a traditional Chinese spiritual concept) and is thus an auspicious date.[4] Hence, the day is also called "Double Yang Festival" (重陽節).[5] It is customary to climb a mountain,[6][7] drink chrysanthemum liquor,[6][7] and wear the zhuyu (茱萸) plant (Cornus officinalis). Both chrysanthemum and zhuyu are considered to have cleansing qualities and are used on other occasions to air out houses and cure illnesses.

On this holiday, some Chinese also visit the graves of their ancestors to pay their respects.[7] In Hong Kong and Macau, whole extended families head to ancestral graves to clean them, repaint inscriptions and lay out food offerings such as roast suckling pig and fruit, which are then eaten (after the spirits have consumed the spiritual element of the food). Chongyang cake is also popular[5] and incense sticks are burned during the holiday.[8]

  1. ^ a b c Roy, Christian (2004). Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia. pp. 116. ISBN 978-1576070895.
  2. ^ National Folk Museum of Korea (2015). Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs: Encyclopedia of Korean Folklore and Traditional Culture. Gil-Job-Ie Media. p. 232.
  3. ^ Choyo no Sekku at kikuko-nagoya.com
  4. ^ Stepanchuk, Carol (1991). Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals of China. San Francisco: China Books & Periodicals. pp. 89–91. ISBN 0-8351-2481-9.
  5. ^ a b Wei, Liming (2010). Chinese Festivals: Traditions, Customs and Rituals (Second ed.). Beijing. pp. 54–57. ISBN 9787508516936.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ a b Eberhard, Wolfram (1952). "The Mid-Autumn Festival". Chinese Festivals. New York: H. Wolff. pp. 110–111.
  7. ^ a b c 陳瑞璋 (2001). 認識中國傳統節日和風俗. Hong Kong. p. 45. ISBN 9621419573.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ Chung Yueng Festival, Discover Hong Kong