The Double Ninth Festival in China: How Chinese singles celebrate it
Last updated: October 31, 2018
October sees a very important festival in China as Chinese singles celebrate the Double Ninth Festival. But what is it, and how is it celebrated?
The Double Ninth Festival has been celebrated in China since before AD 25. It will take place in 2018 on 17th October; the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. This is where the ‘double nine’ aspect if the festival’s title gets its name.
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It’s a holiday in China and sees people celebrate all around the country by taking part in a number of different activities.
For Chinese singles, Double Ninth represents a great opportunity to get out and enjoy the celebrations with friends, families and loved ones. And perhaps even more excitingly, to meet potential new dates.
How Chinese singles celebrate Double Ninth Festival
Many of the celebrations of Double Ninth are traditional, and so Chinese singles may take a slightly different route.
Traditionally, because the number 9 is yang and the festival is double yang, some festivities and celebrations are performed to protect against the potential danger of having too much yang.
These can include climbing mountains, drinking chrysanthemum liquor or wearing the Zhuyu plant. Climbing mountains is a traditional way of celebrated Double Ninth, but it also allows Chinese singles to get out an enjoy the Autumn foliage in the hills.
If chrysanthemum liquor or wine is a little too strong, then there is also a chrysanthemum tea which will also be drunk on this day.
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Of course, for the younger generations such as the Chinese singles, they will want to do different activities. They will spend some time during the holiday with their family but heading out with friends and potentially meeting new people will also be high on their agenda.
However, Chinese singles will still be very close to their family and so will certainly take part in family celebrations as well. These include visiting elderly relatives due to the Double Ninth Festival also being designated as Senior’s Day in China. There is also a heavy emphasis on paying respect to passed relatives, so this will form part of Double Ninth as well.
Finally, in addition to drinking the chrysanthemum liquor, also expect to see people enjoying Chongyang Cake. It’s a simple steamed cake made with flour and sugar and decorated with things such as almonds but will often be baked the day before Double Ninth Festival and then consumed with friends and family as part of the celebrations.