Why do people climb mountains on the Double Ninth Festival? Climbing mountains on the Double Ninth Festival has many meanings.

Why do people climb mountains on Double Ninth Festival? During the Double Ninth Festival, the whole family would get together to climb high places to look into the distance and plant dogwood branches. Next, let’s take a look at the relevant meanings of climbing heights on the Double Ninth Festival.

Why do people climb mountains on Double Ninth Festival?

Theory of warding off evil spirits

It is said that climbing high on the Double Ninth Festival can ward off evil spirits. The ancients believed that during the Double Ninth Festival, the weather gets colder and the ground's air rises, the two energies of heaven and earth interact, and unhealthy air permeates. In order to avoid contact with unhealthy energy, one must climb high mountains to avoid the evil energy of the Double Ninth Festival. In addition, September 9th falls in the middle of autumn, when the weather is clear and cool, making it a very suitable time for climbing high places and looking far into the distance.

Pray and give thanks

In ancient times, people worshipped mountain gods and believed that they could protect people from disasters. Therefore, on the Double Ninth Festival, when "yang pole is about to reach its peak," people would climb mountains to worship the gods in order to pray for good luck. The Book of Rites states: "Mountains, forests, rivers, valleys, and hills that can produce clouds, wind and rain, and monsters are all called gods."

Auspicious meaning

However, there are also those who say that the ninth day of the ninth lunar month has the auspicious meaning of "good for longevity". In the late Han Dynasty, Cao Pi said in "Letter to Zhong Yao in September": "Years go by and months come, and suddenly it is September 9th again. Nine is a yang number, and the sun and the moon correspond to each other. People praise its name and think it is auspicious for longevity, so they hold banquets and gatherings on the Double Ninth Festival (i.e., climbing heights)." Therefore, climbing heights, drinking chrysanthemum wine, and women tying dogwood bags on their arms gradually became folk customs.

Climbing and collecting

During the Double Ninth Festival, the autumn harvest has been completed and farm work is relatively free. At this time, the wild fruits, medicinal herbs and the like in the mountains are ripe, and farmers go up the mountains to collect wild fruits, medicinal herbs and plant raw materials for their sideline businesses. The custom of climbing heights may have originally evolved from this.

Climb high and bid farewell to the green

The Double Ninth Festival is also one of the solar terms in nature, so climbing high is also called bidding farewell to youth. The Double Ninth Festival is an autumn festival. After the festival, the weather gradually gets cooler and the grass and trees begin to wither. Climbing mountains on the Double Ninth Festival to "bid farewell to the green" corresponds to the spring outings in March in ancient times. The "Annals of the Capital's Sui Shi Sheng" compiled by Pan Rongbi in the Qing Dynasty recorded: "(Double Ninth Festival) some people bring wine to the suburbs and drink all day long, which is called 'saying goodbye to Qing'."