If you want to understand the origin of the Chung Yeung Festival, we must first understand the nature and habits of our nation. We are a farming nation, starting from Shennong's family, we have the technology of "slash-and-burn", and agriculture has always accompanied the development of our nation.
So, almost all of our festivals are related to farming. So, what is the theory about the origin of Chung Yeung Festival?
The name of the Double Ninth Festival** is derived from the "six" and "nine" in the Book of Changes, "nine" is the largest number of yang, the most noble meaning, and the name of Chongyang is also due to the overlapping of the two nines on the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar.
However, there has been controversy about the origin of Chung Yeung Festival. Despite this, there are generally two possibilities for the formation of Chung Yeung Festival.
The power of fire lies in its ability to cook food, making it easier for the body to absorb the protein in food, thereby promoting the development of the brain and promoting the advancement of human intelligence. Therefore, the worship of fire by the ancestors was natural.
The formation of primitive religions is often closely related to people's life experience, so it is only natural that our ancestors worshipped the god of fire.
This worship has continued to this day, taking the Chu State in the Spring and Autumn Period as an example, they considered themselves to be the descendants of the fire god Zhurong, and attached special importance to the sacrifice of the fire god, in order to get close to the fire god, they would ascend to the top to worship, which formed the custom of Chongyang sacrifice.
Later, the Qin state destroyed the Chu state, but inherited this custom from theirs and gave it more cultural connotations. The Han Dynasty also inherited the practices of the Qin Dynasty, which made the Double Ninth Festival spread.
One of the origins of Chung Yeung Festival may be the wild fruit gathering activities of primitive times. In the slack season, on September 9, the ancestors were relieved from their busy farm work.
It just so happened that the fruits on the mountain were ripe during this season, and due to the backward agricultural technology, the harvest was limited, so everyone climbed the mountain to collect wild fruits and thanked God for his gifts.
This kind of harvest celebration was enshrined during the Warring States period, and gradually expanded its scope to form a carnival-like festival, so Chongyang is also known as the "Little Autumn Harvest".
In the Han Dynasty, the customs of picnics, drinking, and dancing were formed, which may be related to the sacrificial activities of the ancestors.
Originating in the pre-Qin period, the Chung Yeung Festival was originally a national sacrificial celebration designed for the nobility. However, it was the Western Han Dynasty that really made the Chung Yeung Festival popular and secularized.
At that time, in addition to retaining the original celebrations, people also began to add elements of warding off evil spirits and seeking longevity. According to the records of "Sanfu Huangtu", in the early Western Han Dynasty, the Double Ninth Festival was only a palace celebration.
However, with the spread of the story of Liu Bang and Mrs. Qi, the Chung Yeung Festival was gradually endowed with more humanistic colors.
As sad as this history is, it cannot be denied that it is these stories and customs that have made Chung Yeung Festival the festival we know today.
The origin of the Double Ninth Festival can be traced back to ancient times, formed in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, popularized in the Western Han Dynasty, and flourished after the Tang Dynasty. It is said that all this is thanks to Mrs. Qi's personal maid, Jia Peilan.
According to the Xijing Miscellaneous Records, Jia Peilan once wore dogwood and drank chrysanthemum wine on September 9, believing that it would make people live longer. She brought this custom to the people, and it was soon widely accepted and practiced.
Since then, the customs of the Chung Yeung Festival have spread among the people and have been continuously injected with new cultural connotations.
The ancients attached great importance to the Chung Yeung Festival, and this festival has many unique customs. Two of the most important customs are the wearing of dogwoods and the ascension. Dogwood is a plant that grows in the land of Wuyue, and traditional Chinese medicine believes that it has the effect of repelling cold and poisoning.
Therefore, people wear dogwood on their bodies in the hope of bringing good luck and keeping away from diseases.
Wang Wei's poem "Memories of Shandong Brothers on September 9" vividly depicts the scene of people wearing dogwood and climbing high, which also fully illustrates the wide spread of this custom.
Dogwood plug second, chrysanthemum wine all-you-can-drink. This tradition originated in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, was prevalent in the court at first, and was later introduced to the people. "Nine"with"Wine"homonyms, while"Wine"It is also known as the water of the sun, which just complements the tradition of the Chung Yeung Festival.
Therefore, drinking wine is essential, and as for chrysanthemums, because the literati have a special love for chrysanthemums, scholars and doctors naturally have special respect for chrysanthemum wine. "
On the day of the Chung Yeung Festival, we will choose to climb to a high place, taste the third mellow fragrance of chrysanthemum wine, and enjoy the joy of a picnic party together. The ancient people's worship of the gods was very rustic, and they believed that they could get close and personal with the gods by climbing to a high place.
Li Bai's "Staying in the Mountain Temple at Night" also wrote: "The dangerous building is 100 feet high, and you can pick the stars with your hands." I dare not raise my voice, for fear of frightening the people in heaven. "This kind of simple thinking is very different from what we think about now.
In addition, climbing is also related to the ancestors to collect wild fruits, because many fruits need to be climbed to pick, so this custom has gradually formed.
On this beautiful day, we will climb the heights together, drink and chat, dance and create our own wonderful memories.
In ancient China, September was a month of events and celebrations, the most important of which were the ascent of feasts and military drills.
Large-scale hunting and military parades were practiced in the pre-Qin period, and this tradition continued in the Han Dynasty and gradually developed in subsequent dynasties.
According to the Book of Southern Qi, Emperor Wu of the Southern Song Dynasty once designated September 9 as the National Military Parade Day, and a grand military parade ceremony was held every year.
By the Tang Dynasty, the Chung Yeung Festival had evolved into a competitive event, with archery competitions and many princes and nobles enthusiastic.
These official activities are not closely related to the private sector.
In 1989, China positioned the "Double Ninth Festival" as the "Old People's Day", giving this festival a long-lasting and healthy meaning with the homonym of "Jiujiu" and "Jiujiu", so we have a new tradition of going home to visit our parents on the Double Ninth Festival.