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Double Ninth Festival: A day for hiking and honoring elderly

By Liu Ziying and Zhou Jing
China & World
| October 11, 2025
2025-10-11

Why do people celebrate the Double Ninth Festival?

The festival dates back over 2,000 years and is rooted in both ancient cosmology and folklore. In Chinese numerology, nine is a "yang" number — and so the ninth day of the ninth month is considered a day of strong positive energy, or "double yang." To balance this intense energy, people traditionally engage in uplifting activities such as hiking and enjoying chrysanthemums, which are believed to dispel evil and promote well-being.

The day also incorporates a deep cultural focus on honoring the elderly with gestures of respect, companionship and care.

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