Chongyang Festival

The Chongyang Festival is a traditional Chinese festival allegedly originating in Shangcai County of Henan Province. It falls on the ninth day of the ninth month in the lunar calendar, so it is also known as the Double Ninth Festival, a date that the ancient people held to be auspicious. According to historical materials, the Chongyang

Festival had its initial form in the ceremonies held in autumn to worship heaven and the ancestors in gratitude for the harvest. It prevailed in the Western Han Dynasty and reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty. As time goes by, the festival has absorbed various folk customs and assumed richer cultural significance, including the more recently added respecting and caring for the elderly as China in 1989 designated this traditional festival the Senior Citizens Day.

The Chongyang Festival embodies the Chinese nation's virtue of loving the seniors. In modern times, its celebrations are usually themed on health and longevity mixed with the traditional ethics of filial piety. In May 2006, the festival was among the first inscribed on the list of national intangible cultural heritage.

重陽(yáng)節(jié)

重陽(yáng)節(jié)是中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日，相傳起源于河南省上蔡縣，節(jié)期在農(nóng)歷九月初九。“九”在《易經(jīng)》中為陽(yáng)數(shù)（奇數(shù)），“九九”為兩陽(yáng)數(shù)相重，故曰“重陽(yáng)”。古人認(rèn)為，九九重陽(yáng)是吉祥的日子。

據(jù)現(xiàn)存史料考證，重陽(yáng)節(jié)源自天象崇拜，起始于上古，普及于西漢，鼎盛于唐朝以后。上古時(shí)代人們?cè)谇锛九e行豐收祭天、祭祖活動(dòng)，以謝天帝、祖先恩德，這是重陽(yáng)節(jié)的原始形式。在歷史發(fā)展演變中，重陽(yáng)節(jié)融合多種民俗為一體，承載了更為豐富的文化內(nèi)涵。傳承至今，又添加了敬老等內(nèi)涵。中國(guó)將每年農(nóng)歷九月初九定為敬老日，使這一傳統(tǒng)佳節(jié)成為尊老、敬老、愛(ài)老、助老的新式節(jié)日。

九九重陽(yáng)凝聚了中華民族“老吾老”的濃濃深情和生生不息的民族風(fēng)范，以富有生命意蘊(yùn)的節(jié)慶活動(dòng)世代流傳，設(shè)宴敬老、飲宴祈壽主題逐漸和中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)孝道倫理相融合，成為當(dāng)今重陽(yáng)節(jié)節(jié)慶活動(dòng)的重要主題。2006年5月，重陽(yáng)節(jié)被列入首批國(guó)家級(jí)非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)名錄。