农历九月九日，是我国传统节日"重阳节"，又称"重九节"、"九月九"、"菊花节"、"登高节"。重阳节要举行头上配插茱萸以避邪、吃蓬饵（即重阳花糕）、登高、饮菊花酒等活动。
   
    举行这些活动的主要目的是为了祭天祈福、消灾避祸、令人健康长寿。为什么重九之日会有灾难？原来古人认为奇数为阳，偶数为阴；九为数之极，又称老阳。从一数至九就到了尽头，再往下数又得回到一了，所以说“九为老阳，阳极必变." 古人认为"九"是在占卜数术中表示由盈而亏、由盛转衰的不吉祥数字，而九九相重更是大大的不吉利，必定会有灾难降临，因此，每年九月九日就是不吉的凶日，于是要举行祭祀消灾的这些活动。
   
    既然九月九日是凶日，人们便需要消灾避祸，以盼望吉祥，求得生活幸福，健康长寿。古人认为茱萸是"辟邪翁"，头佩茱萸可以避邪，吃重阳糕则是预示生活幸福，"步步登高"；而菊花是"延寿客"，饮菊花酒则可以使人健康长寿。
   
    梁人吴均的《续齐谐记》中记载了一个有关九月九日的很有传奇色彩的神话故事，故事中说，河南汝南郡的恒景跟随道人费长房游学多年，一天，费长房告诉恒景：九月九日这天，你家中将有大灾，你应当赶快回家去，做些绛紫色的纱囊，里面装有茱萸，让家里每人在胳膊下系佩一个茱萸囊，然后登高饮菊花酒，这样可以免除这次灾祸。恒景一一按照师傅的吩咐去做，九月九日，全家佩带茱萸囊，登高饮菊花酒以避难。晚上回家，只见所养的家畜鸡犬牛羊全部暴死。
   
    今天，重阳节登高饮酒的习俗仍然存在，但赋予了新的含义，重阳节主要成了敬老尊贤、祝愿老人健康长寿的节日，这一天老人们登高远足，在运动中锻炼身体，亦通过领略大自然的风光，怡情悦志，以达到身心俱健的效果。对年轻人来说，重阳节登高，不但有锻炼身体、振奋精神的实效，更富含有生活工作蒸蒸日上、步步高升的意义。
   

 
The Chongyang Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar,so it is also known as the Double Ninth Festival.
   
    The festival is based on the theory of Yin and Yang, the two opposing principles in nature.Yin is feminine, negative principle, while Yang is masculine and positive.The ancients believed that all natural phenomena could be explained by this theory. Numbers are related to this theory. Even numbers belong to Yin and odd numbers to Yang. The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is a day when the two Yang numbers meet. So it is called Chongyang. Chong means double in Chinese.Chongyang has been an important festival since ancient times.
   
    The festival is held in the golden season of autumn, at harvest time. The bright clear weather and the joy of bringing in the harvest make for a festive happy atmosphere.The Double Ninth Festival is usually perfect for outdoor activities. Many people go hiking and climbing in the country, enjoying Mother Nature's final burst of color before she puts on her dull winter cloak. Some will carry a spray of dogwood.
   
    It is hard to say when these customs were created. But there are many stories which are closely related. One such story goes like this.
   
    In ancient times, there lived a man named Huan Jing. He was learning the magic arts from Fei Changfang, who had become an immortal after many years of practicing Taoism. One day, the two were climbing a mountain. Fei Changfang suddenly stopped and looked very upset.
   
    He told Huan Jing, "On the ninth day of the ninth month, disaster will come to your hometown. You must go home immediately. Remember to make a red bag for each one of your family members and put a spray of dogwood in every one. Then you must all tie your bags to your arms, leave home quickly and climb to the top of a mountain. Most importantly, you must all drink some chrysanthemum wine. Only by doing so can your family avoid this disaster."
   
    On hearing this, Huan Jing rushed home and asked his family to do exactly as his teacher said. The whole family climbed a nearby mountain and did not return until the evening. When they got back home, they found all their animals dead, including chickens, sheep,dogs and even the powerful ox. Later Huan Jing told his teacher, Fei Changfang, about this. Fei said the poultry and livestock died in place of Huan Jing's family, who escaped disaster by following his instructions.
   
    And so it happened that climbing a mountain, carring a spray of dogwood and drinking chrysanthemum wine became the traditional activities of the Chong yang Festival.
   
    The dogwood is a plant with a strong fragrance, and is often used as a Chinese herbal medicine. People in ancient times believed it could drive away evil spirits and prevent one from getting a chill in lalte autumn. So its history as a medicine goes back many centuries.
   
    But the custom of carrying a spray of dogwood during the Double Ninth Festival is slowly dying out except in some places and many people, especially young people in the cities, do not even know what a dogwood spray looks like. Even though the tradition of carrying a few sprays of dogwood dies out, that of climbing mountains is reaching new heights.
   
    Early in the Western Han Dynasty, about 2,000 years ago, people used to climb a high platform outside the capital city of Chang'an on the occasion of the Chongyang Festival. For many, it was the last outing of the year before the onset of winter.The custom evolved into its present form, when people go climbing to get some exercise as well as enjoy the autumn scenery.
   
    But what about those people who live in flat regions far from any mountain? The problem is solved by going for a picnic and eating cakes. The Chinese word for cake is Gao, a homonym of the Chinese word for high. Mountains are high, so eating cake can, by a stretch of the imagination, take the place of going for a climb.
   
    Since nine is the highest odd digit, people take two of them together to signify longevity. Therefore, the ninth day of the ninth month has become a special day for people to pay their respects to the elderly and a day for the elderly to enjoy themselves. It has also been
    declared China's day for the elderly.