Trend Tracker: Foodie Frenzy for Double Ninth Festival

Hello, everyone! I'm Kuku, a total foodie! Today we're celebrating the Double Ninth Festival with traditional foods. Join me as I explore Chongyang Cake, a festive treat full of good wishes and reunion, all in one minute!

Falling on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the Double Ninth Festival has been celebrated in China since ancient times. In the "I Ching," or the "Book of Changes," the number nine is regarded as a "yang" number. When both day and month fall on nine, two yangs overlap, hence it is called "Double Ninth." Our ancestors believed this date symbolized good fortune and auspiciousness.

Eating Chongyang Cake is one of the festival's most important traditions. September is when millet ripens, and in ancient times, people made seasonal foods from freshly harvested millet. This tradition of making foods from the fresh harvest became the predecessor to today's Chongyang Cake. Traditional Chongyang Cake is usually made from a mixture of glutinous rice flour and regular rice flour. In Chinese, the word "gao" meaning cake sounds the same as "gao" meaning high, carrying beautiful wishes for growth, progress, promotion and prosperity.

The Double Ninth Festival also coincides with golden autumn, when chrysanthemums bloom in abundance, making chrysanthemum wine an essential part of the celebration. According to ancient texts like "Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital," people brewed chrysanthemum stems and leaves with millet, then stored them to drink on the following year's Double Ninth. It was believed that drinking chrysanthemum wine during this time could prolong life and bring good health.

Other long-standing customs include climbing mountains, enjoying the chrysanthemums, and wearing the Zhuyu plant (Cornus officinalis). These are practices that continue to this day.

In modern China, the Double Ninth Festival has also become widely known as Senior Citizens' Day, a time to show respect and gratitude to the elderly. Did you know that many countries around the world also have festivals dedicated to honoring seniors?

In 1991, the United Nations designated Oct. 1 as the International Day of Older Persons.

On this special day, let us celebrate with gratitude and respect for the elderly. May all seniors enjoy health, longevity and happiness!

Zhang Jiatong, as an intern, also contributed to this article.