Double Ninth Festival
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).
| Double Ninth Festival | |
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Chai Wan Cemetery, Hong Kong, 2015 | |
| Observed by | Chinese, Japanese, Koreans |
| Date | 9th day of the 9th lunar month |
| 2023 date | 23 October |
| 2024 date | 11 October |
| 2025 date | 29 October |
| 2026 date | 18 October |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Double Ninth Festival | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 重陽節 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 重阳节 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Korean name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hangul | 중양절 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kanji | 重陽の節句 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chrysanthemum Festival | |||||
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| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | 菊の節句 | ||||
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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. Hence, the day is also called "Double Yang Festival" (重陽節). It is customary to climb a mountain, drink chrysanthemum liquor, 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. In Hong Kong and Macau, whole extended families head to ancestral graves to clean them and 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. Incense sticks are burned.