Double Ninth Festival

Double Ninth Festival

The Double Ninth Festival (or Chong Yang Festival), observed(əbˈzərv) on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese calendar(ˈkaləndər), is a traditional Chinese holiday, mentioned in writing since before the Eastern Han period(ˈpi(ə)rēəd) (before AD 25).

According to the I Ching(ˈjiNG,ˈē ˈCHiNG), nine is a yang number; the ninth day of the ninth lunar(ˈlo͞onər) month (or double nine) has too much yang (a traditional Chinese spiritual(ˈspiriCHo͞oəl) concept(ˈkänˌsept)) and is thus a potentially(pəˈten(t)SHəlē) dangerous(ˈdānj(ə)rəs) date. Hence, the day is also called “Double Yang Festival”. To protect against danger(ˈdānjər), it is customary(ˈkəstəˌmerē) to climb(klīm) a high mountain, drink chrysanthemum(kriˈsanTHəməm) liquor(ˈlikər), and wear the zhuyu plant, Cornus officinalis. (Both chrysanthemum and zhuyu are considered to have cleansing(klenz) qualities and are used on other occasions(əˈkāZHən) to air out houses and cure(kyo͝or) illnesses(ˈilnəs).)

On this holiday some Chinese also visit the graves(gräv,ˈgrāvz) of their ancestors(ˈanˌsestər) to pay their respects. In Hong Kong, whole extended families head to ancestral(anˈsestrəl) graves to clean them and repaint(ˌrēˈpānt) inscriptions(inˈskripSHən), and to lay out food offerings such as roast(rōst) suckling(ˈsəkliNG) pig and fruit, which are then eaten (after the spirits have consumed the spiritual element of the food). Chongyang Cake is also popular. Incense(inˈsens) sticks(stik) are burned. Cemeteries(ˈseməˌterē) get crowded, and each year grass(gras) fires(fīr) are inadvertently(ˌinədˈvərtntlē) started by the burning incense sticks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Ninth_Festival