Double Ninth Day falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month

Double Ninth Day falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. According to Chinese custom, "nine" is a number belonging to the positive principle "yang," thus the day is also known as Chung Yang or "Double Yang" Festival.
The day is traditionally celebrated by activities including hill-climbing, drinking chrysanthemum wine, hanging dogwood sprays, and other customs handed down from the Han dynasty  story of Huan Ching and Fei Chang-fang, and were all originally practiced to avoid disaster and danger. Taking advantage of the high, cool fall winds of the season, the people on Taiwan have enriched the holiday with kite-flying, a custom which has become immensely popular on the island over the years.
In Chinese, the word "nine" is homophonous with the word for "long time," and accordingly this number has come to represent longevity. Thus, later, the Double Ninth Day was designated  as Senior Citizen's Day , and the week beginning on this holiday is observed as Senior Citizen's Week. Since then, Double Ninth Day has gradually lost its original purpose, becoming today a time of expressing gratitude to the elderly for their hard work and continuing the Chinese tradition of revering the old.
Every major holiday in Taiwan province of China is characterized by special dishes with traditional meaning, and Double Nine Day is no exception to this rule. Double Nine Cake are eaten to symbolize luck and the "ascendance of all things" since "cake" is homophonous with "high" in Chinese.
Through the ages, Double Nine Day has evolved into a rich and varied occasion, with hill climbing and kite flying activities to strengthen the body, soul and heart; and Senior Citizens' Day to invigorate the traditional Chinese values of filial piety and caring for the elderly. The occasion is thus a time both of good spirit and deep traditional significance.

Hill Climbing
The custom of hill climbing on Double Ninth Day began long ago and symbolized the avoidance of disaster. Today, however, the custom has lost its original purpose, becoming rather an activity for strengthening the body and mind. It is celebrated around Taiwan province and other areas across China by numerous mountain-hiking activities.

Drinking Chrysanthemum Wine
Prepared on Double Ninth Day, chrysanthemum wine must be allowed to ferment for one year before it may be drunk on the following Double Ninth Day. It is said that drinking this fragrant spirit will cure a hundred sicknesses, bring longevity, and ward off evil spirits.


Since Double Ninth Day arrives at the time when the chrysanthemum flowers are in full bloom, the literary and refined of taste often will spend this day enjoying the elegance and beauty of these flowers.


Huan Ching and Fei Chang-Fan
A popular story from the Han Dynasty  tells of a man named Huan Ching who was studying the immortal arts from the Taoist monk Fei Chang-fang. One Day Fei Chang-fang warned Huan Ching that, "On the ninth day of the ninth moon, great calamity will strike your home. You must quickly tell your family to sew a cloth bag and fill it with dogwood branches. This you must hold tightly in your hand and ascend to the mountain top and there drink chrysanthemum wine. If you do all of these things as instructed, you will be able to avoid disaster." Huan Ching heeded Fei Chang-fang's warning, leading his family to the mountain top on the specified day. When the family returned again at dusk, Huan Ching discovered, as the Taoist sage had warned, that all of his chickens, dogs, and sheep, and other animals had been violently slaughtered. Upon hearing this news, Fei Chang-fang went to Huan, telling him, "All of this has been done so that you may escape death!" And since that time, the customs of ascending high, drinking chrysanthemum wine, and carrying dogwood branches have all become part of the Double Ninth festivities.

Kite Flying
Releasing kites into the billowing cool winds of fall is the most popular part of Double Ninth Day. There is a Chinese saying that, "On the ninth day of the ninth moon, the howl of the wind fills the sky," With one person holding the string and the other holding the kite, it is relatively easy to get a kite sky-bound. But to send it soaring to distant heights, well that is another matter involving skill and experience!


In addition to flying their kites high and far, kite-fliers will often play a game called "Kite Biting" in which participants try to "bite" down the other kites by snapping their strings. The winner of the competition is the one with the last kite still in the air. In a separate competition, players vie to see whose kite can soar the highest and longest.

Chinese kites come in a variety of different and colorful forms, ranging from simple square kites to elaborate five or six meter long centipede and dragon kites, and are even decorated with the popular cartoon characters; each vying with the other in beauty and fascination.

From a viewpoint, kite-flying is an economical and convenient activity that parents and children can enjoy together, not just in September, but on any weekend or holiday.From the construction of hand-made kites to their release into the sky, kites are enjoyed by the whole family.


Senior Citizen's Day
A number of activities are held on Senior Citizen's Day to show respect to the elderly, including the main Senior Citizen's Day Celebration. As the average age of population gradually increases, caring for the elderly takes on ever increasing importance. In caring for the elderly, we must not only formulate policies to safeguard their welfare and enhance social activities for the elderly, but also instill an ethic of respect for the aged in daily life.



Double Ninth Cake
Double Ninth Cake is a steamed cake made from flour and sugar, stuffed with chestnuts, pine nuts and other types of nut, and crowned with a colorful paper flag stuck on the top. It is an indispensable dish on Double Ninth Day.