The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is Chinas traditional Chongyang Festival， or Double Ninth Festival.

In an ancient Chinese book Yi Jing （The Book of Changes）， number “6” was thought to be of Yin character， meaning feminine or negative， while number “9” was thought to be Yang， meaning masculine or positive. So the number nine in both month and day creates the Double Ninth Festival， or Chongyang Festival.

In 1989， the Chinese government decided the Double Ninth Festival as Seniors Day. It becomes a festival of respecting， loving and helping the old.

農(nóng)歷九月初九是中國的傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日——重陽節(jié)。

中國的古籍《易經(jīng)》中把“六”定為陰數(shù)，把“九”定為陽數(shù)。農(nóng)歷九月九日，日月并陽，兩九相重，故而叫“重陽”，也叫“重九”。

1989年，中國政府把農(nóng)歷九月初九定為“老人節(jié)”，重陽節(jié)成為敬老、愛老、助老的節(jié)日。

Traditional Customs of

Double Ninth Festival

重陽節(jié)的傳統(tǒng)習(xí)俗

Climbing Heights

登高

The ninth lunar month， with clear autumn sky and bracing air， is a good time for sightseeing. So people， both young and old， love to go sightseeing this month.

Apart from expelling bad luck， climbing heights also indicates “climbing to a higher position”， and it was an important reason why ancient Chinese people paid much attention to this custom. Another reason why climbing heights was valued by ancient people was that it meant “climbing to a longevous life”.

農(nóng)歷九月，秋高氣爽，正是外出游玩的好時(shí)節(jié)。所以，一到金秋九月，老的少的都喜歡外出游玩觀光。

登高可以“除霉運(yùn)”，還意指“晉升高位”，這是中國古人重視這一習(xí)俗的重要原因之一。登高之所以受古人重視的另一個(gè)原因是他們認(rèn)為登高意寓“登頂長壽”。

Eating Double Ninth Cake

吃重陽糕

The Double Ninth cake is also known as the chrysanthemum cake or the flower cake. “糕” （cake） shares the pronunciation with “高” （high， tall） in Chinese. Therefore， the Double Ninth cake has been favored by the Chinese people for its auspiciousness.

重陽糕又名“菊花糕”或“花糕”。中文中“糕”與“高”同音，吃糕是取其吉祥之意，因而受到中國人的青睞。

Enjoying Chrysanthemum Flowers

賞菊

The Double Ninth Festival falls on a season for chrysanthemum appreciation， so it is also called the Chrysanthemum Festival. The ninth lunar month is commonly known as the month of chrysanthemum.

重陽節(jié)是賞菊花的時(shí)節(jié)。因此，重陽節(jié)又稱“菊花節(jié)”，農(nóng)歷九月俗稱“菊月”。

Drinking Chrysanthemum Flower Wine

飲菊花酒

It has been customary for the Chinese people to enjoy chrysanthemum wine at the Double Ninth Festival. It was seen as a “l(fā)ucky wine” in ancient China because people believed that drinkers of the chrysanthemum wine would be free from evil and have strong physique against cold weather.

中國人有在重陽節(jié)飲菊花酒的傳統(tǒng)習(xí)俗。菊花酒在中國古代被視為“吉祥酒”，因?yàn)楣湃苏J(rèn)為飲菊花酒能驅(qū)邪，讓飲酒者有強(qiáng)健的身體抵御嚴(yán)寒。

Wearing Cornel Twigs

戴茱萸

The cornel is a species of evergreen plant; it is a heavy-scented plant whose fruit is edible and leaves can be used as medicine. Ancient Chinese people wore the cornel twigs on their arms or heads at the Double Ninth Festival because they believed the cornel could expel insects and get rid of the humidity.

茱萸是一種長青植物。該植物具有濃香，它的果實(shí)可以食用，葉子可以用作藥材。中國古人在重陽節(jié)這天把茱萸戴在手臂上或頭上，因?yàn)樗麄冋J(rèn)為茱萸有驅(qū)蟲、祛濕的功效。

Word Bank

appreciation /?'pri??i'e??n/ n. 欣賞

customary /'k?st?m?ri/ adj. 習(xí)俗的；習(xí)慣的

physique /f?'zi?k/ n. 體格；體形

humidity /hju?'m?d?ti/ n. 潮濕