{"id":173,"date":"2016-10-24T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-24T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/24\/chrysanthemum-day-flower-festival\/"},"modified":"2023-08-07T15:36:54","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T15:36:54","slug":"chrysanthemum-day-flower-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/24\/chrysanthemum-day-flower-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Chrysanthemum Day Flower Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chinese and Japanese citizens\u00a0welcome autumn with Chrysanthemum Day. An auspicious flower, chrysanthemums<\/a>\u00a0are also known as one of the \u201cFour Gentlemen of China\u201d along with the plum blossom for spring, the orchid for summer and the bamboo plant for winter. Chinese speakers pronounce chrysanthemum:\u00a0ju.<\/em>\u00a0It\u2019s phonetically similar to the word jiu<\/em>, which can mean either \u201clong time\u201d or the number nine.\u00a0Chrysanthemum\u00a0Day falls\u00a0on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month (usually 9\/9 but sometimes 10\/9), one of the luckiest days of the year. People also decorate their homes with\u00a0chrysanthemums, symbolic of longevity,\u00a0to honor their\u00a0elders.<\/p>\n

The Legend\u00a0of\u00a0Fei Ch\u2019ang-Fang<\/h2>\n

According to myth, Fei Ch\u2019ang-Fang, a\u00a0clairvoyant of the Han dynasty, advised a follower to take his family far from their home to a distant hill on the 9th<\/sup> day of the 9th<\/sup> month. He told each family member to carry a red bag with a spray of dogwood inside. They\u00a0wore\u00a0the dogwood while climbing the hill and drank\u00a0chrysanthemum wine at the top. Upon retuning home, they realized they\u2019d averted great tragedy and the trip was a lucky excursion. Ever since, on Chrysanthemum Day, climbing hills, wearing dogwood sprays and drinking chrysanthemum wine invoke good luck and help people avoid\u00a0misfortune. Today, people celebrate by visiting\u00a0gardens, creating paintings and poetry about flowers, drinking chrysanthemum wine and eating rice cakes.<\/p>\n

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Chrysanthemum in PAGODA RED vase.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

An Ancient Apothecary\u2019s Flower<\/h2>\n

More than 3,000 varieties of chrysanthemums currently bloom in China. The Chrysanthemum Book of the Song Dynasty<\/em> (960-1279) documents many of the earliest varieties, cultivated over hundreds of years. The flower has proven medicinal properties, and herbalists use chrysanthemum tea to treat a variety of ailments. To prepare the tea<\/a>, they\u00a0steep dried chrysanthemum blossoms in hot water. Then, they\u00a0mix\u00a0it\u00a0with sugar or wolfberries.<\/p>\n

A Stone\u00a0With A Story<\/h2>\n

Chrysanthemum stones<\/a> originate in\u00a0China\u2019s Hunan Province. Many thousands\u00a0of years ago, these\u00a0limestone specimens formed\u00a0from volcanic activity. Over time,\u00a0celestite crystals solidified to\u00a0resemble\u00a0chrysanthemums, the official symbol of the Imperial Family of China. The Hunan Dam flooded many areas where the stones were mined, limiting their availablity.\u00a0Chrysanthemum stones possess deep symbolic meaning and are truly collectors\u2019 items.<\/p>\n

Many\u00a0believe that having a Chrysanthemum stone helps one experience the passage of life in the same way the petals of a flower unfold. In this worldview, change is not\u00a0unsettling or disruptive,\u00a0but\u00a0fluid and harmonious.<\/p>\n

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