The Double Ninth Festival 重阳那些事儿

褚乃艳

Falling on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month， the Double Ninth Festival is also called Chongyang Festival. In Chinese， nine is regarded as the number of Yang. The 9th day of the 9th month is the day that has two Yang numbers， and “cho-ng” in Chinese means double， which is how the name Chongyang was created. It is a day  for people to eat Chongyang cake， drink chrysanthemum wine， climb mountains， and enjoy chrysanthemums.

Activities

Climbing mountains and admiring beauti-ful chrysanthemums are interesting activities during the festival， creating a joyous atmosphere.

It is said that by ascending to a high mountain， diseases could be prevented. Now， family relatives or good friends gather to climb mountains to enjoy the beautiful scenery and share happiness of the holiday with each other.

As chrysanthemums blossom during the festival， it is a pleasure to admire the various chrysanthemums in parks. Grand chrysanthemum exhibitions held in big parks attract a large number of visitors.

During the Tang Dynasty， inserting Zhuyu on the Chong- yang Festival became popular. Ancient people believed that inserting Zhuyu helped avoid disasters.

Food

Chongyang cake is a kind of steamed cake having two layers with nuts and jujubes （棗子） sandwiched between them. Since cake in Chinese is pronounced “gao” meaning high， people consider climbing a high mountain to be the same as eating the cake. Also personal progress is thought to be made in the following days after eating the cake， for “high” means that one makes improvement and moves to a higher level.

Drinking chrysanthemum wine is also an important part of the festival. Chrysanthemum is regarded as a kind of flower having the function of driving the evil away. People often think that by drinking chrysanthemum wine， all kinds of diseases and disasters can be cured and prevented.

New meaning

As nine is pronounced “jiu” meaning long in Chinese， so people endow the word jiu with the meaning of longevity of a person？蒺s life. In the year of 1989， the Double Ninth Festival was designated as Senior's Day—a day to respect the elderly and to let them enjoy themselves. Many companies organize groups where retired people can go out to climb mountains. Members of a family also accompany their elders to have a relaxing day in a natural setting while wishing health and happiness upon them.

Reading Check

Why do people climb mountains during the festival？

A. To prevent diseases.

B. To build up their bodies.

C. To breathe the fresh air.

D. To kill their spare time.

Language Study

Ⅰ. 节日话题表达

1. fall on+日期  （节日） 适逢……

2. be regarded as/considered...to be 被看作是……

3. It is a day for people to 人们通常会在这一天去……

4. Climbing mountains and admiring beautiful chrysanthemums are interesting activities during... 在……期间，登山和赏菊都是比较有趣的活动。

5. It is said that... 据说……

6. share happiness of the holiday with... 与……共享假日的欢乐

7. It is a pleasure to... 做……是很有趣的

8. avoid disasters 避免灾难

9. have the function of driving the evil away 有着驱邪的功能

10. be designated as 被定为……（节日）

11. a day to respect the elderly 一个尊敬老人的节日

12. wish health and happiness upon/on... 愿……健康喜乐

Ⅱ. 小试牛刀

假定你是李华，你的英國网友Tom发邮件向你咨询中国重阳节相关习俗，请给他回一封邮件，介绍重阳节。

注意：

1. 词数100左右;

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯;

3. 邮件开头和结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数。

Dear Tom，

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

Yours，

Li Hua