The story of Double Ninth Festival

The Double Ninth Festival is an important traditional festival in China, which falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. According to the binary classification of numbers in ancient China, odd numbers are Yang, even numbers are Yin, and the month and date of September 9th are both Yang numbers, so it is called "Double Ninth Festival" or "Double Ninth Festival".

So do you know the legend about the Double Ninth Festival? Interested friends come and have a look.

Double Ninth Festival Story 1: According to legend, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a plague demon in Ruhe River. As soon as it appeared, people died every day, and people in this area were ravaged by plague demons. A plague killed the parents of the teenager Hengjing, and he almost died of illness himself. After he recovered from his illness, he bid farewell to his beloved wife and fellow villagers and decided to go abroad to study fairy arts to rid the people of the plague. Hengjing visited the famous mountains and families all over the world, and finally found that there is an oldest mountain in the East, and there is a magical Fei Changfang on the mountain.

Hengjing braved hardships and long journeys, worn out countless pairs of shoes, climbed countless mountains, and finally found the mountain and the flying house with magical power. The immortal was moved by his spirit, took in Heng Jing, taught him how to subdue the demon, and gave him a sword to subdue the demon. Hengjing forgot to eat, sleep and practice hard, and finally became an extraordinary martial art.

On this day, Fei Changfang called Heng Jing to his side and said, "Tomorrow is the ninth day of September, and the plague will come out to do evil again. You have learned the skill, and it's time to go back and kill the people. " He gave Hengjing a bag of dogwood leaves and several cups of chrysanthemum wine, and secretly taught him how to ward off evil spirits and let Hengjing ride a crane home. Hengjing bid farewell to Xianchang and returned to his hometown. On the morning of the ninth day of September, according to Xianchang's instructions, he led the villagers to a nearby mountain and gave everyone a piece of dogwood leaf and a cup of chrysanthemum wine to prepare for the evil spirit.

At noon, with several strange calls, Mo Wen rushed out of the Ruhe River, but just as Mo Wen jumped down the mountain, he suddenly smelled the strange fragrance of Cornus officinalis and the alcohol smell of Chrysanthemum, and his face suddenly changed. At this time, Heng Jing chased him down the mountain with a demon-reducing sword, and stabbed him to death in a few rounds. Since then, the custom of climbing on the ninth day of September has been handed down year after year.

Double Ninth Festival Story 2:

It is said that a long time ago, there lived a peasant family at the foot of Mount Li. The whole family is very diligent and has a good life. One day, the master came back from other places and met a fortune teller on the road. Because it's getting dark, this gentleman hasn't found a place to rest. Because the owner's house is very narrow, there is only one thatched ovary, so I made a thatched shop in the kitchen, let my wife and children sleep on the thatched shop, and I slept on the kang with Mr. Zhugua, making do with it.

At dawn the next day, Mr. Pig melon will leave. The farmer woke up his wife, cooked a meal for Mr. Zhu and wrapped a bag of white steamed bread for Mr. Zhu. Mr. Shugua went out and looked at the banker's place, urging him to say, "By September 9, the whole family will be tall."

The peasant family thought, I didn't do anything strange on weekdays, and I didn't want to be promoted. What should I do in a higher place? But on second thought, people often say that fortune tellers can read Feng Shui and are proficient in astronomy. Maybe something will happen where I live. On September 9th, we went for a walk in a high place to show the whole family the scenery. On September 9, farmers took their wives and children, carrying flowers, cakes and wine, and climbed to the top of Mount Li to play. After they went up the mountain, a spring suddenly rushed to his house halfway up the mountain and washed away his hut at once. It didn't take much effort, and the whole ravine was soaked.

Only then did the peasant family understand why Mr. Zhugua asked his family to climb the mountain on September 9. After the news spread, people helped the old and brought the young to climb the mountain on September 9 of the summer calendar every year, which has been passed down to this day.

The custom of the Double Ninth Festival is 1. Drink chrysanthemum wine, chrysanthemum contains health ingredients. Ge Hong's Bao Pu Zi in Jin Dynasty recorded that people in Nanyang Mountain drank the sweet valley water of chrysanthemums and lived longer. Drinking chrysanthemum wine on the Double Ninth Festival is a traditional custom in China. Chrysanthemum symbolizes longevity, and chrysanthemum wine was regarded as the "auspicious wine" that Chongyang must drink in ancient times to eliminate disasters and pray. So it is fashionable to drink and enjoy chrysanthemums on the Double Ninth Festival now.

The custom of inserting dogwood in Double Ninth Festival was also very popular in ancient times, so it was also called dogwood Festival. As a medicine, Cornus officinalis can make wine, strengthen the body and get rid of diseases. Evodia rutaecarpa and chrysanthemum were very common in the Tang Dynasty. Cornus officinalis has a strong aroma, and has the functions of expelling parasites, removing dampness, expelling wind, promoting digestion and resolving food stagnation, and treating cold and heat. People think that the ninth day of September is also a day of disaster, so people like to wear dogwood to ward off evil spirits and seek good luck on the Double Ninth Festival. Therefore, Cornus officinalis is also called "evil spirit".

3, eat Chongyang cake According to historical records, Chongyang cake is also known as flower cake, chrysanthemum cake, five-color cake, the system is not fixed, more casual. It was the original intention of the ancients to make cakes at dawn on September 9. The child put a cake on his head and said a word in his mouth, wishing the child all the best. Exquisite Chongyang cake should be made into nine layers, like a pagoda, with two lambs on it, which conforms to the meaning of Chongyang (sheep). Some people even put red paper flags on Chongyang cakes and light candles. This probably means "lighting a lamp" and "eating cakes" instead of "climbing", and using a red paper flag instead of dogwood. At present, there is still no fixed variety of Chongyang cake, and the soft cakes eaten in Chongyang Festival all over the country are called Chongyang cakes.

This is my understanding of the Double Ninth Festival. What else do you know, my friend? Tell me in the comments section.