The Chong Yang Festival is also known as the Double Ninth Festival and is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. It usually falls in October in the Gregorian calendar.

The festival can be traced back as early as the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC). According to the yin yang dichotomy which forms a basis to the Chinese world view, yin represents the elements of darkness and yang represents the opposite, brightness. The number nine is regarded as yang, so the ninth day of the ninth month is a double yang day, and people have the name Chong Yang Festival, Chong meaning double in Chinese.

In an ancient and mysterious book, the I Ching or The Book of Changes, number 6 was thought to be of Yin character, meaning feminine or negative, while number 9 was thought to be Yang, meaning masculine or positive so the number nine in both month and day creates the Double Ninth Festival, or Chong Yang Festival. Chong in Chinese means double. Since double ninth was pronounced the same as the word to signifying forever, both are "Jiu Jiu," the Chinese ancestors considered it an auspicious day worth celebration.

Double Ninth Customs and Practices

The ninth month also heralds the approach of the cold winter. It is a time when the living filial Chinese sons and daughters prepare warm clothing for the ancestors. The Double Ninth Festival also is an occasion to visit the graves of departed family members. Clothes made of paper would be burnt for them as offerings.

The Double Ninth Festival is also a time when chrysanthemum blooms. China has boasted of diverse species of chrysanthemum found nowhere else in the world since ancient times. So enjoying the flourishing chrysanthemum also becomes a key activity on this festival. Also, people drink chrysanthemum wine for the occasion and women used to stick such a flower into their hair or hang its branches on windows or doors to avoid evil spirits.

But the most characteristic custom of this festival is climbing high, ascending a height to avoid epidemics were passed down from years ago. Therefore, the Double Ninth Festival is also called the Height Ascending Festival. The height people will reach is usually a mountain or a tower. Ancient literary figures have left many poems depicting the activity. Even today, people still swarm to famous or little known mountains on this day.

To celebrate, people not only climb nearby mountains, but they also appreciate chrysanthemum flowers, drink chrysanthemum wine and eat Double Ninth gao. In Chinese, gao, translated as cake, has the same pronunciation with gao, translated as height. The cake symbolizes that progress will be made in everything they are engaged in. The Double Ninth cakes often have as many as nine layers, looking like a tower.

The Double Ninth Festival is also known as the Old Men Festival. Seniors are especially meant to improve their health by taking part in the activities on this day. Communities will organize an autumn trip each year for those retired from labor. At the waterside or on the mountains, the seniors will find themselves merged into nature. Younger generations will bring elder ones to suburban areas or send gifts to them on this day.

In essence the day is a day for family reunion and an occasion to remember one's ancestors, the hardships they underwent as well as the sacrifices they made. Often, family outings are organized where people search to renew their appreciation of nature, to reaffirm their love, and concern for family members and close friends.