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.

重陽節(jié)

重陽節(jié)是中國傳統(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?！熬拧痹凇兑捉?jīng)》中為陽數(shù)（奇數(shù)），“九九”為兩陽數(shù)相重，故曰“重陽”。古人認(rèn)為，九九重陽是吉祥的日子。

據(jù)現(xiàn)存史料考證，重陽節(jié)源自天象崇拜，起始于上古，普及于西漢，鼎盛于唐朝以后。上古時代人們在秋季舉行豐收祭天、祭祖活動，以謝天帝、祖先恩德，這是重陽節(jié)的原始形式。在歷史發(fā)展演變中，重陽節(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、愛老、助老的新式節(jié)日。

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