今又重陽：江涵秋影雁初飛，與客攜壺上翠微《China Daily? 10-28 17:28》
今年的10月28日陰歷九月初九是中國傳統的重陽節。
(英譯)The 9th day of the 9th lunar month is the traditional Chongyang Festival, or Double Ninth Festival, which falls on Oct 28 this year.
古書《易經》中把“六”定為陰數，把“九”定為陽數，九月九日，日與月皆逢九，兩九相重，故而叫重陽，也叫重九，重陽節翻譯成英文即“Double Ninth Festival”。
“重”在中文里意思是“兩，又”。同時九又與“久”同音，九九即“久久”，寓意長壽永久，古人認為這天是個值得慶賀的喜慶日子，所以很久之前就開始慶祝重陽節。
(英譯)In an ancient and mysterious bookYi Jing, or The Book of Changes, number "6" was thought to be a Yin character, meaning feminine or negative, while number "9" was thought to be Yang, meaning masculine or positive. Therefore, the number nine in both month and day create the Double Ninth Festival, or Chongyang Festival.
Chong in Chinese means "double." Also, as double ninth was pronounced the same as the word to signify "forever", both are "Jiu Jiu," Chinese ancestors considered it an auspicious day worth celebration. That’s why ancient Chinese began to celebrate this festival long ago.
重陽節有哪些習俗呢？下面是關于重陽節你可能不知道的六件事。
(英譯)Here are 6 things you may not know about Double Ninth Festival.
1.插茱萸
Wearing cornel twigs (Dogwood)
茱萸是一種常綠喬木，氣味濃郁，果實可食用，枝葉可入藥。茱萸可以除蟲，祛濕，助消化，解內熱。春天開花，秋后結果，成熟的果實呈紫褐色，味酸而柔和。
The cornel (dogwood) is a species of evergreen arbor, which is a heavy-scented plant whose fruit is edible and stock and leaves can be medicinal materials. They can expel insects, get rid of the humidity, help digestion and cure inner heat. It puts out purple flowers in spring and bears in autumn, purplish-brown fruit that is sour and mild in nature.
插茱萸的習俗早在唐代就已經盛行，唐朝皇帝頒布法令使重陽節成為官方節日。古人認為古人認為在重陽節這一天插茱萸可以避難消災，他們或佩帶于臂，或插在頭上，或作香袋把茱萸放在里面佩帶。古時插茱萸的多為婦女和兒童，有些地方的男子也佩戴茱萸。宋朝時，人們將彩緞剪成茱萸和菊花的形狀來佩戴。
The custom of wearing cornel twigs (dogwoods) was already very popular in the Tang Dynasty (618-907); an imperial edict made it an official day off for common people. Ancient people believed that planting cornel twigs on Double Ninth Festival could prevent diseases and avoid disasters. They also wore the cornel twigs on their arms or heads or put them in sachets. Most people that follow the custom are women and children, and in some places men also wear them. During the Song Dynasty, people sent each other colorful silk cut into cornel twigs or chrysanthemum and wore them.
2. 賞菊Enjoying chrysanthemum flowers
菊花又稱黃花，菊科植物品種繁多。作為多年生草本植物的菊花花期很長，但通常在陰歷九月開始開花，為重陽節又增添了幾分姿色。因此九月又被稱為“菊月”。
Also known as "yellow flower", chrysanthemum is of varied species in the composite family. Though its florescence lasts long, this perennial herb usually begins to bloom in the 9th lunar month, lending a festive flavor to the Double Ninth Day. That’s why the month is also referred to as "the month of chrysanthemum".
因為是晚秋唯一一種盛開的花，菊花歷朝歷代以來都為詩人們所喜愛。據傳晉朝大詩人陶淵明在隱居期間曾種了很多品種的菊花，花期正盛時吸引了眾多親朋好友前來觀賞。唐朝的農民起義領袖黃巢寫了很多詠菊的詩歌，后被編成菊花集，至今仍被人們傳頌引用。唐朝大詩人杜甫也有逾十首歌頌菊花的詩歌。
The flower was favored by poets through the ages, because it is one of the only flowers that bloom in late autumn. It is said that Tao Yuanming, a famous poet of the Jin Dynasty, grew many species of chrysanthemum while he lived as hermit, and the flower, when in full bloom, drew many of Tao’s relatives and friends. Huang Chao, leader of the peasant uprising in the Tang Dynasty, wrote many poems about chrysanthemum, which were compiled into an anthology of chrysanthemum and are often quoted even now. Du Fu, a great Tang Dynasty poet, wrote more than ten poems singing the praises of the flower.
很久以前人們就在重陽節賞菊。農歷九月的菊花被譽為“長壽之花”。佩戴菊花的習慣始于唐代，此后這一習俗一直長盛不衰。清朝時一些地方的菊花展一般在節后第二天。北京重陽節的習俗是把菊花枝葉貼在門窗上，“解除兇穢，以招吉祥”，這是頭上簪菊的變俗。
Chinese folks were fond of enjoying chrysanthemum on the Double Ninth Day long before. Chrysanthemum blossoms in the ninth lunar month have the beautiful name of "flower of longevity". The custom of wearing chrysanthemum appeared in the Tang Dynasty and was very popular throughout the time afterwards. Chrysanthemum displays were usually held immediately after the day in some regions of China in the Qing Dynasty. People in Beijing began to stick chrysanthemums on doors and windows to "get rid of the bad luck and bring in the good ones", which is an alteration of the custom of wearing chrysanthemum on people’s heads.
3.吃重陽糕Eating Double Ninthcake
重陽糕也稱“菊糕”或“花糕”。它可以追溯到周朝（公元前11世紀——公元前256年）。據說，這批蛋糕是在秋收后為農民準備的，正好讓人們嘗嘗當季地收獲，后來逐漸成為重陽節時吃的糕點。
重陽糕的“Chong”意味著“兩，并”，“Yang”意味著九和“羊”，而“Gao”意味著“糕點”。同時，由于“糕”與“高”同音，重陽節吃重陽糕意味著以后可以步步高升。
Double Ninth cake is also known as "chrysanthemum cake" or "flower cake". It dates back to the Zhou Dynasty (the 11th century – 256 BC). It is said that the cake was originally prepared after autumn harvests for farmers to have a taste of what was just in season, and it gradually became the cake for people to eat on the Double Ninth Day.
The cake was called Chong Yang Gao in Chinese, which means Double Ninth cake as "Chong" means double, "Yang" dichotomously suggests nine and sheep, and "Gao" means cake. Also, because "Gao" (cake) shares the pronunciation with "Gao" (high, tall), people hope to get a higher position in life by having Gao on the Double Ninth Day.
4.飲菊花酒Drink Chrysanthemum flower wine
重陽節最初是農民慶祝收成的日子。重陽節最先成型與戰國（475-221 BC），漢朝(206 BC-220 AC)時開始逐漸流行。據說那時呂后嫉妒漢高祖劉邦（漢朝的第一個皇帝，前256或247至前195年）的愛妃戚夫人，劉邦駕崩后，戚夫人被呂后謀害，身邊的一個侍女也被驅逐出宮，嫁與平民為妻。侍女賈氏告訴人們，在皇宮里每年陰歷九月初九日每人都要佩戴茱萸、飲菊花酒以祈求長壽和避災。人們聽說后紛紛效仿，于是這種習俗在民間就廣為流傳了。
It was originally a day for farmers to celebrate crop harvests. The festival was created in the Warring States period (475-221 BC) and became popular in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AC). At that time, Queen Lv was so jealous of Concubine Qi, who was one of the favorites of Liu Bang (the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, 256 or 247-195 BC), that she ill-treated the latter and drove her maid out of the imperial palace to marry a common person after the emperor’s death.This maid, who is known as Miss Jia, told people that in the imperial palace every ninth day of the ninth lunar month they wear small cornel twigs (dogwoods) in their hair and drink chrysanthemum wine, otherwise there would be disasters. Later, many common people followed the custom and it gradually prevailed all over the country.
釀造菊花酒頗具特色。據說古人在陰歷九月初九采集新鮮的菊花和葉子，將其和谷物混合制成酒，知道第二年的九月初九才可以飲用。據說此酒可以明目、治頭昏、降血壓，有減肥輕身、安腸胃之妙，有延年益壽的功效。據說菊花酒還有驅邪抗寒的功效。混合了茱萸的菊花酒有祛痛延年的功效。古人重陽節登高時，喜歡在頭上佩茱萸、飲菊花酒。
The chrysanthemum flower wine is unique when brewed. Some say in ancient times people usually picked fresh chrysanthemum flowers and leaves on the 9th of the 9th lunar month and brewed the mixture of them and grains into the wine, which could not be drunk until the same day next year. The wine is said to have wholesome effects on sharpness of the eye, alleviation of headache, drop of hypertension, reduction of weight and removal of stomach trouble, thus contributing to longevity. It is said that drinkers of the chrysanthemum wine would be free from evil and have strong physique against cold weather. The chrysanthemum wine, infused with cornel twigs (dogwood) fruit, has wholesome effects on assuagement of pain and regulation of the flow of vital energy. While climbing mountains on the Double Ninth Day, ancient Chinese liked to wear cornel twigs (dogwood) in their hair and drank the wine.
5.登高Climbing heights
重陽節人們喜歡登高爬山，所有這一天又被稱作“登高節”。
農歷九月，秋高氣爽，天朗氣清，正是出游觀光的好時節。金秋九月，登高遠望，天高云淡，遠處重巒疊嶂，莽莽蒼蒼，宜人的秋色讓人心曠神怡。
People like to climb heights (mountains) on this festival, so Double Ninth Festival is also called "Mountain-climbing Festival".
The 9th lunar month, with clear autumn skies and bracing air, is a good time for sightseeing. An outing lover, who stands on a height looking afar this month, will have a panoramic view of a blue sky with pale clouds and dark green mountains, which makes him or her carefree and joyful.
在秋天這個天朗氣清的季節里登高望遠、欣賞自然美景，確實讓讓人神清氣爽！除了避災驅害這一層的寓意，爬山登高還意味著“爬到更高的位置”，這是古人看重登高這一習俗的重要原因。另外爬山被人們尤其是老年人重視的原因在于其意味著“登頂長壽”。
It is really refreshing to climb mountains and enjoy the beauty of nature during this bright and clear time in autumn. Apart from expelling bad luck and disasters, climbing mountains also indicates "climbing to a higher position", and it is also an important reason why ancient people pay attention to this custom. Another reason that climbing mountains is valued by people, especially by the elderly, is that it means "climb to a longevous life".
6.闔家團聚Family get-togethers
重陽節也是闔家團聚的日子，全家圍坐在一起追思先輩，緬懷其做出的犧牲和經歷的苦難。通常家庭出游活動是為了重新認識觀賞自然美景，以及重申對家人和密友的關愛。
人們經常聚在一起，觀賞菊花、佩戴茱萸。登高爬山和吃特制的重陽糕也是這一天的特色。
The Double Ninth Festival is also a time for family get-togethers. It is an occasion to remember one’s ancestors, the sacrifices they made and the hardships they underwent. Often, family outings are organized where people search to renew their appreciation of nature and to reaffirm their love and concern for family members and close friends.
People often gather for parties, enjoy chrysanthemums and pin cornel twigs on clothes. The customs of climbing mountains and eating a special cake is also featured this day.
