重阳节

—历史来源—

The9thdayofthe9thlunarmonthisthetraditionalChongyangFestival,orDoubleNinthFestival.ItusuallyfallsinOctoberintheGregoriancalendar.InanancientandmysteriousbookYiJing,orTheBookofChanges,number6wasthoughttobeofYincharacter,meaningfeminineornegative,whilenumber9wasthoughttobeYang,meaningmasculineorpositive.SothenumbernineinbothmonthanddaycreatetheDoubleNinthFestival,orChongyangFestival.ChonginChinesemeansdouble.Also,asdoubleninthwaspronouncedthesameasthewordtosignifyforever,bothareJiuJiu,theChineseancestorsconsidereditanauspiciousdayworthcelebration.ThatswhyancientChinesebegantocelebratethisfestivallongtimeago.农历九月九日，为传统的重阳节。因为古老的《易经》中把“六”定为阴数，把“九”定为阳数，九月九日，日月并阳，两九相重，故而叫重阳，也叫重九，古人认为是个值得庆贺的吉利日子，并且从很早就开始过此节日。

—节日风俗—

ClimbingMountains

登高

The9thlunarmonth,withclearautumnskyandbracingair,isagoodtimeforsightseeing.Sopeople,bothancientandpresent,lovetogosightseeingthismonth.

阴历9月这天，正值秋高气爽，适合旅行观光。所以，一到金秋九月，不论男女老少，都喜欢在此时旅行登高。

Apartfromexpellingbadluckanddisasters,climbingmountingalsoindicates“climbingtoahigherposition”,anditisalsoanimportantreasonwhyancientpeoplepaymuchattentionaboutthiscustom.Anotherreasonthatclimbingmountainsarevaluedbypeople,especiallybytheelderlyisthatishasameaningof“climbtoalongevouslife”.

登高可以驱除霉运，还意指“晋升高位”。这也是古人为什么很重视这一传统习俗。登高之所以受人重视，特别受老人重视，是因为人们认为登高还意寓“登顶长寿”。

EnjoyingChrysanthemumFlowers

赏菊花

ChrysanthemumoriginatedinChinaandwasrecordedinsomeChinesebooksasearlyasthe5thcenturyB.C.Chrysanthemumblossomintheninthlunarmonthhaveabeautifulnameof“floweroflongevity”.

菊花产自中国，最早记载始于公元前5世纪。菊花在阴历九月盛开，它有一个美称“长寿之花”

DrinkingChrysanthemumFlowerWine

饮菊花酒

Thechrysanthemumflowerwineissaidtohavewholesomeeffectsonsharpnessoftheeye,alleviationofheadache,dropofhypertension,reductionofweightandremovalofstomachtrouble,thuscontributingtolongevity.Itissaidthatthedrinkersofthechrysanthemumwinewouldbefreefromevilandhavestrongphysiqueagainstcoldweather.

据说，菊花酒具有清神明目，减肥降血压，治疗胃病的功效。因此，可以饮菊花酒可以使人长寿。另外，饮菊花酒还有驱邪抗寒的效用。

WearingDogwood

插茱萸

Thedogwoodisaspeciesofevergreenarbor;itisheavy-scentedplantwhosefruitisedibleandstockandleavescanbemedicinalmaterials.Theycanexpelinsects,getridofthehumidity,helpdigestionandcureinnerheat.Itputsoutpurpleflowersinspringandbears,inautumn,purplish-brownfruitthatissour,puckeryandmildinnature.

茱萸为长青乔木。该植物具有浓香，它的果实可食用或干存。它的叶子可以用作药材。茱萸具有驱虫去湿，助消化去内热的功效。春季它开紫色的花，然后开始孕育果实。到了秋天，就结出了紫褐色，味酸，带皱，质感柔软的果实。

EatingDoubleNinthCake

吃重阳糕

TheDoubleNinthcakeisalsoknownas“chrysanthemumcake”or“flowercake”.ItdatesbacktotheZhouDynasty.Itissaidthatthecakewasoriginallypreparedafterautumnharvestsforfarmerstohaveatasteofwhatwasjustinseason,anditgraduallygrewintothepresentcakeforpeopletoeatontheDoubleNinthDay.

重阳糕又名“菊花糕”或“花糕”重阳糕的历史可追溯到周朝。相传，最初人们是为了庆祝秋收而制作重阳糕的。到现在，就逐渐发展为在重阳佳节人们常吃的一种糕点了。

Flyingapapercrane

放纸鸢

Papercraneisjustkite.Accordingtoourtraditionsandcustoms,flyingkitesusuallyhappenattheQingMingFestival.ButTombSweepingFestivalisduringtherainyseasonwhichobviouslyisnotsuitforflyingakite,whileDoubleNinthDayownsclearautumnskyandcrispairmakingkiteflyingabestoutdooractivity.

纸鸢类似于风筝。据中国传统习俗，人们通常在清明节放风筝。但每逢清明，也是雨纷纷的时节，因而并不适合放风筝。相比之下，重阳节这天，秋高气爽，最适合户外放风筝。