中國古代重陽節 Double Ninth Festival in Ancient China

重陽節是農曆九月初九。九被稱為陽，是因為中國古人認為奇數是陽，偶數是陰。十進位制裡，九是一個數位上最大的數字，這樣，九也是最大的陽數。九月九日就是兩個最大的陽數。

The Double Ninth Festival has been set on the ninth day of the ninth month in Chinese lunar calendar。 Nine was called a Yang number because ancient Chinese people believed that odd numbers belonged to Yang while even numbers belonged to Yin。 In decimal system， nine is the largest number for a digit。 So， nine is also the largest Yang number。 And the ninth day of the ninth month has two largest Yang numbers。

因為現世生命被認為是陽，而這一天陽數最大，所以古時這個日子也作為老人祈求長壽的日子。

Because of the two largest Yang numbers，the date was taken as a day for praying for longevity for senior people as the present life was believed to be a Yang period。

登高Height Climbing

重陽節登高有兩個原因。第一，這一天陽數最大。天氣由秋入冬時，陽氣上升收斂，陰氣覆蓋大地，萬物歸於安靜。所以，人們要到高處才能順應和找到作為生命動力的陽氣。第二，人們要“辭青”。到了深秋，大地的綠色都變成五顏六色；人們要跟綠色告別。

There were two reasons for climbing heights in the festival。 First， the date has the largest Yang numbers。 When it turns from autumn to winter， Yang energy goes up and hides while Yin energy covers the earth for everything to rest。 So people need to climb to higher places to follow and find the Yang energy as their power of life。 Second， people would “say farewell to the green”。 In late autumn， the green on earth all turns into other colors。 And people need to say goodbye to it。

賞菊Enjoying Chrysanthemum

重陽前後正是菊花盛開的時間。賞菊作為活動，除了看花，還要品嚐應景食物。一是重陽糕。糕與高同音。有的說法是要做成九層，上面放兩隻小羊，因為羊與陽同音。這裡的寓意就是重陽登高了。二是菊花酒。中國人喜歡用各種藥材泡酒。在中醫裡，菊花有清熱明目的功效。菊花一般是金黃色的，所以古詩裡也叫做金花酒。

Chrysanthemum is in full bloom round the time of the festival。 As a festive activity， enjoying chrysanthemum includes tasting cuisines for the festival besides looking at the flowers。 First， there was the snack known as the Double Ninth Cake。 In Chinese， the character for cake has the same pronunciation as the character for height。 In some recipe， the cake was made into nine layers with two small goats placed atop it， as the character for goat in Chinese has the same pronunciation as the character for Yang。 So there is the implication about climbing height in the festival。 Second， people drank chrysanthemum wine。 Chinese people like steeping various kinds of medical materials in liquor。 In traditional Chinese medicine， chrysanthemum has the function of clearing heat and eyesight。 The flower is generally in golden color， so the liquor was also called golden flower wine in ancient Chinese poem。

插茱萸Wearing Cornel

茱萸是落葉小喬木，結小紅果子，有香味，可以入藥。古代人都喜歡用各種材料製作香料，最常見的是有香味的植物枝葉果實。把果實包在錦囊裡或者直接把枝葉和果實插在衣服或者頭上，身體上也就有香味。這樣可以去除體味，驅趕昆蟲，植物中揮發物質也有益於健康。

Cornel is a type of small tree that bears small red fruits， deciduous， aromatic and herbal。 Ancient people liked to use all kinds of materials to make spice。 Plant branch， leave and fruit are the most commonly-seen。 Putting fruits inside a silk sachet or pluck twig， leaves and fruits all on hair or clothing， people had herbal scent all over their body。 This helped them to drive away body odor and insects。 Besides， volatile substances in plant are generally good to health。