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Why It’s Called “Chongyang”#

Ancient Chinese philosophy holds that odd numbers are yang and even numbers are yin, and that nine is the largest yang number. So the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, where two yang numbers double up, came to be called the Double Ninth Festival.

This day is seen as the peak of yang energy. But in Chinese philosophical thinking, everything moves in cycles: once something reaches its limit, it begins to turn in the opposite direction. So this day is also regarded as the moment when yang starts to decline.

At the same time, the Chinese value harmony between yin and yang. Extreme yang with too little yin is considered bad for health, which is why all the festival activities on this day revolve around yin and yang.

Double Ninth Customs#

1. Mountain climbing — rising above the turbid, drawing in clean yang Core logic: the ancients believed that in autumn the ground was heavy with turbid air, while the air on mountain peaks was clear and yang. Climbing high was a way to leave the turbid air behind and take in refreshing yang energy, keeping the body vigorous — neither “getting heated up” nor fatigued.

2. Wearing dogwood — using yang to subdue yin and ward off evil Core logic: dogwood has a strong, pungent scent and is considered a “pure yang” plant. The ancients wore it on their bodies as if using strong yang energy to suppress and drive away external yin evil, bad luck, and illness.

3. Admiring chrysanthemums and drinking chrysanthemum wine — using yin to balance extreme yang Core logic: chrysanthemums are cold and yin in nature. Since the Double Ninth is a day of “extreme yang” when people are prone to getting “heated up,” drinking chrysanthemum wine uses its yin to neutralize the excess yang inside the body, preventing illness — hence it symbolizes longevity.

4. Eating Chongyang cake — harmonizing qi and blood, wishing for promotion Core logic: the cake is made by mixing yin-natured rice with yang-natured jujubes and other ingredients. Eating it is meant to harmonize the body’s yin and yang balance. And since “gāo” (cake, 糕) sounds like “gāo” (high, 高), it carries the wish to rise step by step.

5. Ancestor worship and honoring the elderly — bridging human yin and yang, praying for longevity Core logic: ancestors represent “yin” (the past), while descendants represent “yang” (the present). Worshiping ancestors on a day of extreme yang is a way to bridge the two realms of yin and yang and express reverence for the roots of life. Honoring the elderly — the “old yang” of the family — is a prayer that the family’s bloodline stay in harmony and endure for a long time.

How These Customs Carry On and Change#

Today we still keep the customs of mountain climbing and eating Chongyang cake, but the practices of wearing dogwood and admiring chrysanthemums / drinking chrysanthemum wine have become rare.

Meanwhile, the customs of honoring the elderly and worshiping ancestors have taken on new meaning, becoming our tradition of giving thanks to ancestors and respecting elders.

Homesickness Grows on Festive Days#

About the Double Ninth Festival, there is a famous line from ancient China that has been recited for centuries:

独在异乡为异客，每逢佳节倍思亲。 Alone, a stranger in a foreign land, / each festival day I miss my family twice as much. —— 王维《九月九日忆山东兄弟》 — Wang Wei, “Remembering My Brothers on the Double Ninth Festival”

Growing up in a generation that lived through China’s transition from traditional culture to modern urbanization, homesickness has accompanied me through most of my life. And on a Double Ninth Festival like this one, I miss my hometown more than ever.

So on this Double Ninth Festival, let us together pray for the harmony of yin and yang — and for the health and well-being of our families.