The Double Ninth Festival（重阳节）

玉涛

重阳节

（The Chongyang Festival）

（The Double Ninth Festival）

Huang Shoucheng

(黄守成)

唐朝诗人王维<九月九忆山东兄弟>

独在异乡为异客，每逢佳节倍思亲。

遥知兄弟登高处，遍插茱蓃少一人。

A Poet of Tang Dynasty

Wang Wei

（Thinking of my Brothers on Mountain Climbing）

Alone，a lonely stranger in a foreign

land.

I doubly pine for my kinsfolk on a

festival day.

I know my brothers would， with dogwood spray in hand.

Climb up mountains and miss me so far away.

Hello, everyone!

The topic which I will make a speech about today is “The Chongyang Festival”.

Just like a word of an old poem： All alone in foreign land，on festival occasions one thinks of one＇s dear ones far away more than ever. In other words，A lonely stranger in a strange land where I am cast（wander／am given up），I miss my family more all the time on every festival day. Our ancestors have already rendered（expressed／shown） the homesickness which they lived deeply in the mind on festivals fully in a very literary manners.

As we know，“The Chongyang Festival ” is a traditional Chinese festival which is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month，Chinese having spent Mid－autumn Festival and National Day. Therefore， it is also known as “the Double Ninth Festival”.

It's said that the festival began as early as the Warring States Period (475Bc---221Bc).Acccording to the Chinese world view, yin stands for the elements of darkness and yang for life and brightness. In the Chinese culture, the number “nine” is regarded as yang and the ninth day of the ninth month is therefore a double yang day. That is why it was named as “the Chongyang Festival”.

What's more，on the Double Ninth Festival, people usually climb to higher platforms，the top of great buildings，or taller mountains to look forward to having a nice sight far away, plant Zhukov smelling nice here and there to avoid unluckiness，or disasters or diseases in the future，enjoy osmanthis flowers and smell their fragrances in the gardens around their own houses，appreciate chrysanthemum flowers under the moonlight in the garden， or in the courtyard，maybe along the roads, and drink chrysanthemum wine made by their grandfathers facing gentle wind, and enjoy double-ninth cakes with fragrant osmanthis flowers slowly，which nothing is more delicious than.

Perhaps，if you haven't a formal swing around，you may make a tyre swing by tying a strong rope around a tyre and attaching it to each of both trees. Look！Children are playing on a swing happily with laughters under the high trees behind houses. Boys and girls go to square or fields freely to be flying kites highly in the sky. At night，adults run forward and back to fly Longmont lanterns，leading their sons and daughters. At the same time， some fellows are driving smart planes higher and higher in the sky without people driving，taking photos， with their cats or dogs wandering around them， over the rivers and lakes in the park.

It's well-known that The Double Ninth Festival is also called “Seniors’ Day” when old people are especially meant to improve their health by taking part in the activities on the day of the festival.

Besides，the Double Ninth Festival is also a time for families to get togethers. It is an occasion to remember one’s died grandfather or grandmother, their giving-up and hardships ，or to memorize the heroes who lost their lives for the homeland. Often, family outings are organized during which people intend to renew their appreciation of nature and to show their love and concern for family members and close friends.

In a word，it's the Chongyang Festival that we enjoy one of the traditional festivals most so far. Wherever we go or live，we will never forget the nice festival and spend it formally and actively year after year. If we hadn't such a nice festival， we would lose something like such Chinese excellent culture.

Thank you for your reading or listening!