Held on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Double Ninth Festival is also called Chongyang Festival. In Chinese, nine is regarded as the number of Yang. The ninth day of the ninth month is the day that has two Yang numbers, and “chong” in Chinese means double. This is how the name Chongyang was created. It is a day for people to eat Chongyang cake, drink chrysanthemum wine, climb mountains, and pay homage to chrysanthemums.

重阳节又叫“九九重阳节”，因节期为每年农历九月初九而得名。在中文里，数字九是“阳数”，两个“九”在一起，故曰“重阳”，重阳节由此而来。在这一天里，人们品重阳糕、饮菊花酒、登高望远、秋游赏菊。

Just as other Chinese festivals have their own unique story, so does the Double Ninth Festival. It is said that in  Eastern Han Dynasty, a devil inhabited in a river caused disease in the neighborhood. The parents of a young man called Hengjing, died because of the devil's magic. In order to get rid of the devil, Hengjing went through extraordinary lengths to find an immortal to teach him swordsmanship to expel the devil.

和其他中国传统节日一样，九九重阳节也有着独特的历史传说。据说在东汉时期，有个潜伏河中的瘟魔给乡民带来疾病，一个叫“恒景”的青年的双亲便是被瘟魔所害。为了驱除这个恶魔，恒景长途跋涉，向一名仙人求学斩邪除恶的剑术。

On the eighth day of the ninth lunar month, the immortal told Hengjing that the next day the devil would appear and he was to go back to get rid of the devil and the disease. Taking a bag of dogwood and some chrysanthemum wine with him, Hengjing returned to his hometown. In the morning of the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Hengjing led all the villagers to the nearest mountain, each of whom was holding a piece of dogwood leaf and a cup of Chrysanthemum . At noon, when the devil came out from the river, the devil was puzzled by the fragrance emitted from the dogwood and the chrysanthemum wine and then stopped moving. At that moment Hengjing used the sword to battle the devil for a few rounds and won.

在农历九月初八这一天，仙人告诉恒景，瘟魔将在次日出没，正是斩除它的大好时机。恒景带着一袋山茱萸和一些菊花酒回到了家中。在九月初九的早晨，恒景带领村民，每人手持一叶山茱萸和一杯菊花酒来到山下。中午时分，瘟魔从河中现形，但是山茱萸和菊花酒的香气让瘟魔疑惑不止，不敢前行。此时，恒景手持降妖宝剑，经过几个回合的激烈搏斗，恒景将瘟魔刺死，瘟疫消除。

 

Since then the customs of climbing mountains, drinking chrysanthemum wine and holding onto dogwood on the ninth day of the ninth month have become popular.

自此，登高望远、饮菊花酒、佩插茱萸等便成为重阳节的传统习俗。

Just as mentioned, drinking Chrysanthemum wine is an indispensable part of the festival. Chrysanthemum is regarded as a kind of flower having the function of an antitoxin and can drive the evil away. People often think that by drinking chrysanthemum wine, all kinds of diseases and disasters can be cured and prevented.

正如刚才所说，喝菊花酒是重阳节中十分关键的一个部分。菊花被认为具有排毒的功效，能够祛除身体中的毒素。人们认为喝菊花酒可以治愈疾病，趋吉避凶。

Chongyang Cake is a kind of steamed cake having two layers with nuts and jujube sandwiched between them. Since cake in Chinese is pronounced “gao” meaning high, people consider climbing a high mountain means the same as eating cake. People also expect to make personal progress in the following days after eating the cake, for “high” means that improvements are made while moving to a higher level.

重阳糕是一种中间夹有坚果碎和枣子的蒸糕。在汉语中，“糕”与“高”同音，象征着如同登高一般，品尝重阳糕能够“节节高”。“吃糕点”与对个人的祝愿联系在一起，美好的寓意便由此而生。

As nine is pronounced “jiu” meaning long in Chinese, people endow the word “jiu” with the meaning of longevity. In the year of 1989, Double Ninth Festival was designated as Senior's Day — a day to respect the elderly and to let them enjoy themselves. Many companies organize retired people to go for an outing. Members of a family also accompany their elders to have a relaxing day in a natural setting and wish them good health and happiness.

数字“九”因与“久”同音，在中文中还有着“长寿”的寓意。1989年，我国正式将重阳节定为敬老节。许多工作单位在此佳节期间组织退休职工外出郊游。家庭成员也与老人们团聚，在轻松温馨的氛围下共同祝愿老人们身体康泰，生活幸福。

VOCABULARY

dogwood: n. 山茱萸

indispensable: adj. 不可或缺的

jujube: n. 枣子