The Chongyang Festival is a Chinese traditional festival. It is celebrated the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. That is it is called the Double Ninth Festival, too.

    The festival started as early as the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). It has a history of more than 1, 700 years. Among the numbers from zero to nine, nine is the (high) odd number (奇数). People believe that two "nines" meeting together stand for a long life. So it is a special holiday for Chinese people (show) love and respect for their elders. They hold many kinds of (act) in honor of old people, wishing (they) good health and a long life.

    The festival comes during the (gold) time of foil. On the day, people traditionally drink chrysanthemum (菊花) wine, eat Double-Ninth Cakes climb mountains. They also carry a kind of plant named dogwood. People in ancient times believed that plant could drive away evil (邪恶的) spirits and prevent them from (catch) an illness in winter.