Traditional Chinese Festivals - Double-Ninth Day 九九重阳节

Each ninth day of September in Chinese lunar calendar is the Double-Ninth Day, a traditional festival of China. Having undergone a history of more than 2,000 years, the Double-Ninth Day was formally set down as a folk festival in the Tang Dynasty and both Emperors and civilians alike should celebrate the festival following the etiquette and custom. As time goes by, the Double-Ninth Day has gradually formed the celebrating conventions of going on a journey, ascending height, inserting cornel, appreciating chrysanthemum, eating Double-Nine cake, and drinking chrysanthemum wine. On that day, people always gather the whole family to spend the festival together, while those far from their homes will generally become more homesick on that day. As the figure "9" also stands for longevity and health in the traditional concept of Han people, the Chinese government set September 9 in the lunar calendar as "the Elder's Festival" in 1989. Now, the Double-Ninth Day has been enlisted as Intangible Cultural Heritage of China.