Chongyang Festival
重阳节
The Chongyang Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, so it is also known as the Double Ninth Festi-val.
每年中国农历九月初九是重阳节，也被称之为重九节。
The festival is based on the theory of Yin and Yang，the iwo opposing princi-ples in nature. Yin is feminine，negative principle，while Yang is masculine and positive. The ancients believed that all natural phenomena could be explained by this theory. Numbers are related to this theory. Even numbers belong to Yin and odd numbers to Yang. The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is a day when the two Yang numbers meet. So it is called Chongyang. Chong means double in Chi-nese. Chongyang has been an important festival since ancient times.
古人将天地万物归为阴阳两类，阴代表黑暗，阳则代表光明、活力。代表光明、活力。数为阳，偶数为阴。九是奇数，因此属阳，九月初九，日月逢九，二阳相重，故称“阳”。
The festival is held in the golden season of autumn，at harvest-time.The bright clear weather and the joy of bringing in the harvest make for a festive happy atmosphere. The Double Ninth Festival is usually perfect for outdoor activities.Many people go hiking and climbing in the country，enjoying Mother Nature's final burst of color before she puts on her dull winter cloak. Some will carry a spray of dogwood.
这一天，正值仲秋收获季节，天高气爽，收获的喜悦增添了节日的气氛。重阳节非常适合户外运动，是登高远眺，舒畅胸怀的好时光。
It is hard to say when these customs were created. But there are many stories which are closely related. The book Xu Qi Xie Ji，written by Wu Jun in the sixth ten-tury has one such story. In ancient times，there lived a man named Huan Jing. He was learning the magic arts from Fei Changfang， who had become an immortal af-ter many years of practicing Taoism. One day，the two were climbing a muntain.Fei Changfang suddenly stopped and looked very upset. He told Huan Jing，On the ninth day of the ninth month，disaster will come to your hometown. You must go home immediately. Remember to make a red bag for each one of your family members and put a spray of dogwood in every one. Then you must all tie your bags to your arms，leave home quickly and climb to the top of a mountain. Most importantly，you must all drink some chrysanthemum wine. Only by doing so can your family avoid this disaster.
很难追溯重阳节的起源，但是有许多相关的传说。根据公元六世纪吴均的《续齐谐纪》记载:“汝南桓景，随费长房游学累年。长房谓之曰:九月九日汝家中当有灾，宜急去，令家人各作绛囊，盛茱英以系臂，登高饮菊花酒，此祸可除。景如言举家登山。……今世人九日登高饮酒，妇人带茱英囊，盖始于此。”
On hearing this，Huan Jing rushed home and asked his family to do exactly as his teacher said. The whole family climbed a nearby mountain and did not return until the evening. When they got back home，they found all their animals dead，in-cluding chickens，sheep，dogs and even the powerful ox. Later Huan Jing told his teacher，Fei Changfang，about this. Fei said the poultry and livestock died in place of Huan Jing's family，who escaped disaster by following his instructions.
听到这,桓景冲回家,问他的家人完全按照老师说的做。全家人爬附近的山,直到晚上才回来。当他们回到家时,他们发现所有的动物死亡,包括鸡、羊、狗,甚至强大的牛。后来桓景告诉他的老师,范说,家禽和家畜死亡的地方欢静的家庭逃离灾难遵循他的指示。
And so it happened that climbing a mountain，carrying a spray of dogwood and drinking chrysanthemum wine became the traditional activities of the Chongy-ang Festival.
每到这一天，人们出游登高，饮菊花酒，佩茱萸。时至今日，一些地区仍保存着这种风俗。
The dogwood is a plant with a strong fragrance，and is often used as a Chi-nese herbal medicine. People in ancient times believed it could drive away evil spir-its and prevent one from getting a chill in late autumn. So its history as a medicine goes back many centuries. But the custom of carrying a spray of dogwood during the Double Ninth Festival is slowly dying out and many people，especially young people in the cities，do not even know what a dogwood spray looks like.
茱萸是一种药用植物。其味香烈，有逐风邪、治寒热等功用。古人把茱英作为驱邪的神物，每逢重阳节人人都要佩带。如今，插茱英的习俗已不多见，许多城里的年轻人甚至不知道茱英长什么样。
Even though the tradition of carrying a few spray of dogwood dies out，that of climbing mountains is reaching new heights.
虽然插茱萸的习俗已不多见了，但是登高是重阳节的重要风俗。
Early in the Western Han Dynasty，about 2 000 years ago，people used to climb a high platform outside the capital city of Chang'an on the occasion of the Chongyang Festival. For many，it was the last outing of the year before the onset of winter. The custom evolved into its present form，when people go climbing to get some exercise as well as enjoy the autumn scenery.
早在两千多年前的西汉时期，人们就在这一天前往京城长安郊外登高台。现如今，人们登山则是为了边锻炼身体边欣赏秋景。
But what about those people who live in flat regions far from any mountain The problem is solved by going for a picnic and eating cakes. The Chinese word for cake is Gao，a homonym of the Chinese word for high. Mountains are high，so eating cake can，by a stretch of the imagination，take the place of going for a climb.
对于那些生活在远离山区的人们来说，他们可以出外野餐，吃糕点。汉语“糕点”的“糕”和“登高”的“高”发音相同，所以就用“吃糕”代替“登高”了。
Since nine is the highest odd digit， people take two of them together to signify longevity. Therefore，the ninth day of the ninth month has become a special day for people to pay their respects to the elderly and a day for the elderly to enjoy themselves. It has also been declared China's day for the elderly.
由于九是奇数中最大的一个，人们把两个九放在一起来表示长寿。因此，重阳节就成为了传统的敬老节日，政府也把它定为老人节。
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