Double Ninth Day falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. According to Chinese custom, "nine" is a number belonging to the positive principle "yang," thus the day is also known as Chung Yang or "Double Yang" Festival.

The day is traditionally celebrated by activities including hill-climbing, drinking chrysanthemum wine, hanging dogwood sprays, and other customs handed down from the Han dynasty story of Huan Ching and Fei Chang-fang, and were all originally practiced to avoid disaster and danger. Taking advantage of the high, cool fall winds of the season, the people on Taiwan have enriched the holiday with kite-flying, a custom which has become immensely popular on the island over the years.

In Chinese, the word "nine" is homophonous with the word for "long time," and accordingly this number has come to represent longevity. Thus, in 1966, the Ministry of Interior designated Double Ninth Day as Senior Citizen's Day in the ROC, and the week beginning on this holiday is observed as Senior Citizen's Week. Since then, Double Ninth Day has gradually lost its original purpose, becoming today a time of expressing gratitude to the elderly for their hard work and continuing the Chinese tradition of revering the old.

Every major holiday in Taiwan is characterized by special dishes with traditional meaning, and Double Nine Day is no exception to this rule. Double Nine Cakes are eaten to symbolize luck and the "ascendance of all things" since "cake" is homophonous with "high" in Chinese.

Through the ages, Double Nine Day has evolved into a rich and varied occasion, with hill climbing and kite flying activities to strengthen the body, soul and heart; and Senior Citizens' Day to invigorate the traditional Chinese values of filial piety and caring for the elderly. The occasion is thus a time both of good spirit and deep traditional significance.

---