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Long ago; the festival was marked by climbing heights (mountains), enjoying chrysanthemum flowers, drinking chrysanthemum flower wine, wearing cornel twigs (dogwoods), eating Double Ninth cake and other activities. Climbing Heights (Mountains) People like to climb heights (mountains) on this festival, so Double Ninth Festival is also called ¡°Mountain-climbing Festival ¡°. It is really refreshing to climb mountains and enjoy the beauty of nature at this bright and clear time in autumn. Climbing mountains on Double Ninth Festival was already prevailing in the Tang Dynasty, and a lot of poems were devoted to this custom, such as ¡°On the Ninth Day of the Ninth Lunar Festival: Thinking of My Brothers In Shandong¡± written by the great poet Wang Wei (701-761) in the Tang Dynasty: All alone in a foreign land. Apart from expelling bad luck and disasters, climbing mounting also indicates ¡°climbing to a higher position¡±, and it is also an important reason why ancient people pay much attention about this custom. Another reason that climbing mountains are valued by people, especially by the elderly is that is has a meaning of ¡°climb to a longevous life¡±. Also for this reason people believe that climbing mountains can make people live a more longevous life. Enjoying Chrysanthemum Flowers Chrysanthemum originated in China and was recorded in some Chinese books as early as the 5th century B.C. The flower was introduced, as imperial flower, into Japan in the Tang Dynasty. Then it was introduced into Britain in the 12th century, into the continent of Europe in the 17th century, and into the USA in the 19th century. Also known as ¡°yellow flower¡±, chrysanthemum is of varied species in the composite family. Though its florescence lasts long, this perennial herb usually begins to bloom in the 9th lunar month, lending much festive flavor to the Double Ninth Day. That¡¯s why the month is also referred to as ¡°the month of chrysanthemum¡±. The flower was favored by poets through the ages. It is said that Tao Yuanming, a famous poet of the Jin Dynasty, grew many species of chrysanthemum while he lived as hermit and the
Drinking Chrysanthemum Flower Wine It was originally a day for farmers to celebrate bumper harvests of crops. The festival was born in the Warring States period (475-221 BC), became popular in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AC), At that time, Q????? ueen Lu was so jealous of Concubine Q?????? I, who is one of the favorite of Liu Bang (the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, 256 or 247-195 BC), that she ill-treated the latter and drove her maid out of the imperial palace to marry a common people. This maid, who is known as Miss Jia, told people that in the imperial palace, every ninth day of the ninth lunar month, they wear in hair small cornel twigs (dogwoods) and drink chrysanthemum wine, otherwise there would be disasters. Later many common people followed the custom and it gradually prevailed all over the country.? The chrysanthemum flower wine is unique in brewing. In ancient time¡¯s people, some say, usually picked fresh chrysanthemum flowers and leaves on the 9th of the 9th lunar month, and brewed the mixture of them and grains into the wine, which would not be drunk until the same day next year. The wine is said to have wholesome effects on sharpness of the eye, alleviation of headache, drop of hypertension, reduction of weight and removal of stomach trouble, thus contributing to longevity. It is said that the drinkers of the chrysanthemum wine would be free from evil and have strong physique against cold weather. The chrysanthemum wine, infused with cornel twigs (dogwood) fruit, has wholesome effects on assuagement of pain and regulation of the flow of vital energy. While climbing mountains on the Double Ninth Day, ancient Chinese liked to wear cornel twigs (dogwood) in their hair and drank the wine.
Wearing Cornel Twigs (Dogwood) The cornel (dogwood) is a species of evergreen arbor; it is heavy-scented plant whose fruit is edible and stock and leaves can be medicinal materials. They can expel insects, get rid of the humidity, help digestion and cure inner heat. It puts out purple flowers in spring and bears, in autumn, purplish-brown fruit that is sour, puckery and mild in nature. The custom of wearing cornel twigs (dogwoods) was already very popular in the Tang Dynasty (618-907); it was made an official day ¨C off for common people by an imperial edict. The ancient people believed that planting cornel twigs (dogwoods) on Double Ninth Festival could prevent diseases and avoid disasters. They also wear the cornel twigs (dogwoods) on arms or heads or put them in sachets. Most of people that follow the custom are women and children, and in some places men also wear them.
Eating Double Ninth Cake The Double Ninth cake is also known as ¡°chrysanthemum cake¡± or ¡°flower cake¡±. It dates back to the Zhou Dynasty (the 11th century ¨C 256 BC). It is said that the cake was originally prepared after autumn harvests for farmers to have a taste of what was just in season, and it gradually grew into the present cake for people to eat on the Double Ninth Day. The cake was usually made of glutinous rice flour, millet flour or bean flour. In the Tang Dynasty Other Activities Present people no longer drink the chrysanthemum flower wine and wear cornel twigs (dogwoods) in hair on the Double Ninth Day, and only a few regions¡¯ people still follow the custom of eating the Double Ninth cake. Nearly all Chinese, however, still like to climb mountains to mark the festival.
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The Double Ninth Day is observed, as one of the traditional festivals, by Chinese on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. It is known as Chong Yang Jie in Chinese because ¡°Chong¡± means double, ¡°Yang¡± suggests nine; according to the ancient Chinese book ¡°YiJing¡± (or 1-Ching, The Book of Changes (one of the Five Classics in ancient China), ¡°six¡± was seen as the yin number, while ¡°nine¡± the yang number. The ninth day of the ninth lunar month include two yang numbers, so the day is called ¡®Double Yang¡± or ¡°Double nine¡±; and ¡°Jie¡± means festival.
flower, when in full bloom, drew many of Tao¡¯s relatives and friends. Huang Cao, leader of the peasant uprising in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a lot of poems about chrysanthemum, which were compiled into an anthology of Chrysanthemum and, even now, are oft-quoted. Du Fu, a great Tang Dynasty poet, wrote more than ten poems singing the praises of the flower. 
its surface was usually planted with a small pennant of multi-colored paper and bore at its center the Chinese character ¡°ling¡± (order). The Double Ninth cake in the Song Dynasty was usually made with great care a few days before the Double Ninth Day, its surface planted with colored pennants and inlaid with Chinese chestnuts, ginkgo seeds, pine nut kernels and pomegranate seeds. It was a nice festive present for relatives or friends. In the Ming Dynasty, the imperial families customarily began to eat the cake early on the first day of the 9th lunar month to mark the festival, and the common people usually enjoyed with their married daughters the festive cake, which was basin-sized and covered with two or three layers of jujubes. The cake in the Qing Dynasty was made like a 9-storied pagoda, which was topped with two sheep images made of dough. The cake, so made, was called Chong Yang Gao in Chinese, which means Double Ninth cake as ¡°Chong¡± means double, ¡°Yang¡± dichotomously suggests nine and sheep, and ¡° Gao¡± means cake.