The Double Ninth Festival is a traditional Chinese folk festival that falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month every year. The number "Nine" is a yang number in the "Book of Changes". The two yang numbers "Nine Nine" overlap each other, so it is called "Double Ninth Festival"; because both the sun and the moon coincide with nine, it is also called "Double Nine".
In ancient times, people had the custom of climbing high to pray for blessings, worshiping gods and ancestors, and drinking banquets to pray for longevity during the Double Ninth Festival. It has been passed down to this day, and connotations such as respecting the elderly have been added. Climbing high to appreciate autumn and being grateful and respectful to the elderly are two important themes of today's Double Ninth Festival activities.
As for the legend of the Double Ninth Festival, there are three widely circulated folk theories, but there are quite a lot of customs on the Double Ninth Festival. By the way, I will introduce two customs on the Double Ninth Festival. Let’s take a look with me:
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1. The legend of the Double Ninth Festival?
One of the legends of the Double Ninth Festival: The Double Ninth Festival Princess?
The Double Ninth Festival culture has a history of two to three thousand years. There are many folklores spread to this day. Among them, the most widely circulated and influential one is the legend of Princess Chongyang.
According to the "Book of Han" records, during the reign of Emperor An of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Empress Li, who was pregnant with Liujia in the palace, was killed by the Yan family and fled to Chongyangdian, south of Funiu Mountain to the west of Luoyang. A daughter was born on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, named Chongyang Girl. Unexpectedly, in the autumn of one year, a great plague broke out here, and the people in the village and Lady Li were not spared. Before her death, Empress Li told the Chongyang Girl about her life experience. After the death of Empress Li, Chongyang Girl went to study with teachers everywhere, determined to kill the plague demon and avenge her mother. A Taoist priest was moved by her spirit, carefully taught swordsmanship, and revealed the four weaknesses of the Plague Demon: one is afraid of the color red, the other is afraid of the smell of alcohol, the third is afraid of irritating smells, and the fourth is afraid of loud noises. When the Japanese Plague Demon reappears, he acts according to the opportunity and eliminates harm for the people.
On September 9th of the following year, people near the Chongyang Women’s Organization climbed to Yuncai Mountain and put red dogwood on the women’s heads. The fruit of the dogwood was red and the leaves gave off a strange smell. They drank chrysanthemum wine, and as soon as the plague demon appeared, they shouted in unison: "Eradicate the plague demon, and the world will be peaceful." When the plague demon saw the color red, smelled the smell of alcohol and strange smells, and heard the shouts, he huddled up and the Chongyang Girl stabbed the plague demon to death with a sword. From then on, the people in the Chongyang store area lived and worked in peace and contentment, and lived a long and healthy life.
The local people built a Double Ninth Taoist temple for Princess Double Ninth Festival. Because the ninth day of September is also the Double Ninth Festival, people call this day the "Double Ninth Festival" and come to worship every Double Ninth Festival.
?Legend of the Double Ninth Festival Part 2: Huanjing slays the plague demon?
It is said that there was a man named Huanjing in Runan County in the Eastern Han Dynasty. He had six people in his family, including his parents, wife, and children. , planted a few acres of land, and lived a decent life. Plague often broke out on both sides of the Ru River, and many people died. Huan Jing heard that there was a plague demon in the Ru River, and it came ashore every year to spread the plague, so he decided to find a way to eliminate the plague for the people.
Huan Jing heard that far away in the mountains, there was a great immortal named Fei Changfang. His martial arts was superb and he could destroy the cunning plague demon. He immediately packed his bags and went to the mountains to visit immortals. Huan Jing climbed mountains one after another and crossed rivers one after another, but still could not find the immortal. He was very disappointed. Suddenly he saw a white dove sitting there, nodding to him. Huan Jing followed Bai Ge and came to "Fei Changfang Xianju". Huan Jing saw that the temple door was tightly closed. After shouting for a long time, no one opened the door. To show his sincerity, he knelt outside the temple door.
He knelt for two days and two nights, waiting for the door to open. On the morning of the third day, the door suddenly creaked open. An old man with a white beard floating on his chest said to him with a smile: "Huan Jing, your eagerness to eliminate harm for the people touches me very much. Get up and come into the yard!" Fei Chang said Fang accepted Huan Jing as his disciple and taught him martial arts. He studied hard morning and night and became good at martial arts.
One day, the master said to Huan Jing: "You have almost mastered martial arts. I will give you a blue dragon sword to subdue demons. You go back! On the ninth day of September this year, the plague demon will come ashore again." "Gather the villagers to the mountain, give them a piece of dogwood leaf, and give them a sip of chrysanthemum wine, so that the plague demon will not dare to approach them." After the immortal said, he gave him another bag. Dogwood leaves and a jar of chrysanthemum wine. Then, with a finger, a crane perched on a pine and cypress flew over, allowing Huan Jing to ride on it and return to his hometown in Runan.
On the ninth day of September, the Ru River roared and the sky was darkened by a whirlwind. The plague demon came out of the river. Seeing that there was no one in the village, it chased the people on the mountain. Suddenly, the smell of wine stung his nose, and the scent of dogwood choked his throat, and he did not dare to approach the crowd. It turned back to the village and saw a man sitting in the house drinking. That man was Huan Jing.
The plague demon roared and rushed towards Huan Jing. Huan Jing calmly drew out the Green Dragon Sword and fought. After more than ten rounds of fighting, the Plague Demon could not defeat Huan Jing. Just as he was about to escape, he was stabbed to death by Huan Jing. When the villagers heard that Huan Jing had killed the plague demon, they rushed back to their homes from the mountains and cheered and thanked Huan Jing.
On this day every year since then, people will hold activities to commemorate Huan Jing's eradication of the plague and eliminating harm for the people. Because the ninth day of September is also the Double Ninth Festival, people call this day "Double Ninth Festival". Festival".
?The third legend of the Double Ninth Festival: the legend of Lishan Mountain?
It is said that a long time ago, there was a farmer living at the foot of Lishan Mountain. The whole family was very diligent and lived a good life. good. ? One day, the owner of the family came back from the fields and met a fortune teller on the way. Because it was getting dark, the fortune teller had not found a place to rest. Since the owner's house was very narrow and only had a thatched hut, he built a thatched bunk in the kitchen and let his wife and children sleep on the thatched bunk. He and the fortune teller slept on the kang, making do with it. ?
At dawn the next day, the fortune teller was about to leave. The villager woke his wife and cooked a delicious meal for him. He also packed a bag of steamed buns for him. The fortune teller went out, looked at the place where the banker lived, and told him: "On September 9th, the whole family will go to a higher place." The banker thought, I don't do anything strange on weekdays, and I don't want to be promoted, so I will go to a higher place. What? But then I thought, people often say that fortune tellers can read Feng Shui and are proficient in astronomy. Maybe there will be something wrong where I live.
On September 9th, go for a walk to a higher place and let the whole family enjoy the scenery. ? On September 9th, villagers take their wives and children, carry flower cakes and wine on their backs, and climb to the peak of Lishan Mountain to play. After they went up the mountain, a spring suddenly appeared halfway up the mountain and rushed straight into his house, destroying his thatched shed in an instant. In a short time, the entire ravine was soaked. Only then did the banker understand why the fortune teller asked his family to climb the mountain on September 9th. ?
?After this incident spread, people helped the old and the young to climb high every September 9th in the lunar calendar. Because September 9th was also the Double Ninth Festival, people called this day the "Double Ninth Festival" ".
2. Customs of the Double Ninth Festival?
One of the customs of the Double Ninth Festival: releasing paper kites?
Putting paper kites is one of the main customs of the Double Ninth Festival in the south. one. Folk celebrations of the Double Ninth Festival are mainly characterized by flying paper kites. Guangxu's "Huizhou Prefecture" also records it. In folk tradition, in addition to climbing mountains, flying paper kites is also a feature of the Double Ninth Festival. As for why people fly kites during the Double Ninth Festival, in addition to the climatic reason that the sky is clear and the wind is light, the kites can easily fly up the wind during the Double Ninth Festival. The scripture is quite interesting.
According to legend, the purpose of flying paper kites during the Double Ninth Festival is to "release bad luck". The higher and farther the paper kites fly, the bad luck will also fly away. What's more, the strings must be specially tied. Break and let the kite disappear beyond the sky. Another explanation is that flying paper kites on the Double Ninth Festival is "to release good luck" and "to release blessings". The better the paper kites fly, the stronger the blessings. The person who releases the paper kites not only must not break the silk thread, but must also do everything possible to protect it, because if the silk thread breaks , then "good luck" and "blessing" will also float into the distance.
?The second custom of the Double Ninth Festival: Autumn sunbathing?
"Autumn sunbathing" is a typical agricultural custom with strong regional characteristics. Some places also enter the peak season of autumn sunbathing every year during the Double Ninth Festival, and hold grand autumn sunbathing festivals.
Double Ninth Festival is the best time to enjoy autumn. There are still some mountainous villages in southern China that retain the characteristics of "sun-in autumn". "Autumn sun drying" is a typical agricultural custom. Villagers in mountainous areas, due to the complex terrain and very little flat land in the village, have to use the front and back of the house and the windowsill and roof of their own homes to dry or hang their crops.
For people living in mountainous areas, the terrain here is very complex. Even in the villages where everyone depends for survival, there is very little flat land. To dry crops, you can only make full use of the front and back of the house. , or the window sill, roof, etc. of your own home. Over time, a very traditional agricultural custom has naturally formed. Generally speaking, the Double Ninth Festival refers to the special life scene and way in which villagers dry their crops. Later, with the works of photographers and painters, sunbathing in autumn became a rich source of materials for them. They also gave this agricultural custom a poetic name, that is, sunbathing in autumn.
However, it needs to be reminded that drying in autumn does not refer to autumn, but to the harvest of fruits and crops. In fact, the traditional agricultural custom of drying is not unique to autumn. This situation actually exists throughout the year. It's just that autumn is the harvest season, with more types of crops, and the scope and scale of autumn sun-drying are richer and larger, so it attracts more people's attention.
No matter which theory it originated from, or a combination of multiple theories, the Dragon Boat Festival entrusts people with their wish to welcome good luck, receive good fortune, and ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters. The Double Ninth Festival is a beautiful festival that has been passed down to this day and has added connotations such as respecting the elderly. Climbing high to appreciate autumn and being grateful and respectful to the elderly are two important themes of today's Double Ninth Festival activities.