Welcome to our online Chinese
cultural lessons in our Chinese platform. In China, there has been a festival
called Chong2 Yang2 (double Yang) festival. This is the exclusive festival of
the elderly whose age beyond 60 years old being regarded as the aged people. Now
that it is a festival, it also embraces many spending ways. Today, we will
introduce them to you from our hanbridge
lessons.
The Festival of
Ascending Heights
Since antiquity,
the Double Yang Festival is customary to climb to high places，referred
to as the Festival of Ascending Heights．The origin of
climbing to high places bears much importance，especially with
regards to the elderly．It takes on the meaning of longevity．Hence
people believe that the Festival of Ascending Heights can increase longevity．There
are no provisions regarding where to climb，a mountain being
the same as a lofty pagoda．
Eating Double
Yang Cakes
According to
historical records，double yang cakes, also called flower cakes，
chrysanthemum
cakes, and five colored cakes，have no
particular way to make them，just as one wishes．At dawn
on the 9th month on the 9th day, parents place a cake on foreheads
of their children，wishing their children one hundred things high，with
the original idea derived from the ancients. Exquisite double yang cakes made
on the 9th month have nine layers，resembling a
pagoda. On the top of the cakes are two rams in accordance with Double Yang (yang
also means ram，a
symbol of righteousness). In addition，some people place
a little red flag and a candle on the top of the cake with the writings: 1ight
the candle, “eat the cake”，meaning “ascend
to heights”. The flag is a substitute for the dogwood twig.
To learn Chinese
cultural festival celebrations can widen your horizon of knowledge. Except for the
former two celebrations, it has another special meaning of celebration.
Appreciation for
Chrysanthemums，Drinking
Chrysanthemum Wine
The Double Yang
Festival occurs every year in the golden autumn，as the chrysanthemums
are blooming. Following the tradition of the Double Yang Festival，it is
customary to show appreciation for chrysanthemums，and drink
chrysanthemum wine，originating from the Jin Dynasty poet, Tao Yuan ming.
Tao Yuan ming is famous for living in seclusion，his poems，wine，and
love for chrysanthemums . Later generations imitated this，thereupon
customarily showing admiration for them.
Wearing Dog wood，Placing
Chrysanthemums in the Hair
Ancients believed
that wearing dogwood deters disaster and calamity. They wore dogwood twigs on
their arms, put them in fragrant pouches，or stuck them in
their hair，especially
women and children．but in some places men did this also．Besides
wearing dogwood，in
some places it was customary to put chrysanthemums in one’s hair.
It has been many
years that Chinese learn to
study the culture of Chong2 Yang2 festival for the sake of traditional virtue
of reverence for the aged. We hope that this tradition can be accepted by
foreigners worldwide.
Source:
| http://00000000.over-blog.com/2015/03/celebrations-of-chong2-yang2-festival-in-china.html |
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