This year & the next celebration
When is Double Ninth Festival?
36 days away
Double Ninth Festival 2026
18 October 2026Open this calendar month →Meaning & living traditions
What is Double Ninth Festival?
Why the ninth matters
The festival pairs lunar month nine with day nine. In traditional number symbolism, nine is associated with yang, giving Chongyang its meaning of “double yang.” The sound of jiu jiu also echoes lasting a long time, fitting wishes for longevity.
High places and family remembrance
Climbing hills or visiting high places is a distinctive Chongyang custom, often enjoyed as an autumn outing. In Hong Kong, ancestral-grave visits are also established Chung Yeung observances. Remembrance and respect for living elders can sit alongside each other.
Autumn flowers and Chongyang cake
Chrysanthemum viewing expresses seasonal appreciation and wishes for a long life. Chongyang cakes add another recognisable tradition: Shanghai examples use sticky rice, sesame and dried fruit, with recipes and decoration varying between makers.
Cornel, cake and wishes for progress
Zhuyu, often translated as cornel, is an aromatic plant traditionally carried or worn as a protective emblem. In festival legends, its sprigs or sachets accompany the journey to high ground. Cake adds another association: gao, “cake,” sounds like gao, “high,” so sharing it expresses hopes of rising or progressing. Small coloured paper flags can decorate the cake. The plant, the decorated food and the hill outing each give a different form to hopes for protection, longevity and good fortune.
Calendar rule
When Double Ninth Festival falls
The ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the double-ninth.
The exact rule is 9th day of the 9th lunar month. Its Gregorian date moves because lunar months last 29 or 30 days, while leap months keep the lunar year aligned with the seasons.
Double Ninth Festival dates, 2023–2032
| Year | Gregorian date | Calendar position |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 23 October 2023 | Lunar 9/9 |
| 2024 | 11 October 2024 | Lunar 9/9 |
| 2025 | 29 October 2025 | Lunar 9/9 |
| 2026 | 18 October 2026 | Lunar 9/9 |
| 2027 | 8 October 2027 | Lunar 9/9 |
| 2028 | 26 October 2028 | Lunar 9/9 |
| 2029 | 16 October 2029 | Lunar 9/9 |
| 2030 | 5 October 2030 | Lunar 9/9 |
| 2031 | 24 October 2031 | Lunar 9/9 |
| 2032 | 12 October 2032 | Lunar 9/9 |
Observance
How it is observed
In Hong Kong, families may visit ancestral graves or hike and picnic in the hills on Chung Yeung, while observance varies across communities.
Common questions
Understanding Double Ninth Festival
Does “Double Ninth” mean September 9?
No. It means the ninth day of the ninth Chinese lunar month. Its Gregorian date therefore changes, usually placing the observance in the autumn rather than on September 9.
Why is Chongyang cake associated with climbing?
The Chinese words for “cake” and “high” sound alike. The food echoes the festival’s high-ground custom through wordplay.
What is zhuyu?
It is an aromatic plant associated with Chongyang, traditionally carried or worn as a protective symbol.
The calendar around the next occurrence
Double Ninth Festival in 2026
Sunday, 18 October 2026 is lunar month 9, day 9, in lunar year 2026. The festival falls in the Yang Fire Horse year.
The festival’s lunar year
Yang Fire Horse
354 days across 12 lunar months, with no leap month.
Explore this lunar year →Inside lunar month 9
30 days in this month
From 10 October 2026 to 8 November 2026. The festival is on day 9.
Cold Dew
The solar term begins on 8 October 2026.
Convert the festival date →
Moon around the celebration
Waxing crescent
This is the Moon phase on the festival’s civil date.
Moon phases for the festival month →Before and after this festival
25 September 2026
Mid-Autumn FestivalLunar date & day reading →18 October 2026
Double Ninth FestivalLunar date & day reading →22 December 2026
Winter SolsticeLunar date & day reading →
The next celebration · 18 October 2026 · UTC+8
The complete Double Ninth Festival day reading
The festival sets the occasion; its day pillar, activities, directions and hours change each year. This reading is for 18 October 2026.
Daily almanac · 2026-10-18
Double Ninth Festival: activities & day animal
乙丑 Yin Wood Ox
The stem gives Wood; the branch gives Ox.
Read this stem against your Day Master →Huang Dao and Hei Dao name the day-god cycle. For a particular plan, read its Yi and Ji activities below.
宜 Traditionally suitable
- Ritual cleansing or removal解除
- Ritual offerings祭祀
- Plaster or decorate walls修饰垣墙
- Level or repair roads平治道涂
- Build a livestock enclosure造畜稠
- No other activities recommended馀事勿取
忌 Traditionally avoid
Calendar terms explained
This day in the traditional cycles
Each result below names this date’s position and explains what the term means.
- Day pillar 日柱
- Yin Wood Ox · 乙丑— this date’s position in the repeating 60-day stem–branch cycle.Hidden stems are stems conventionally contained in the day pillar’s earthly branch. Primary is the main layer; middle and residual are secondary layers.
- Yin Earth · Jǐ 己 (primary)
- Yin Water · Guǐ 癸 (middle)
- Yin Metal · Xīn 辛 (residual)
- Month pillar 月柱
- Yang Earth Dog · 戊戌— the month’s position in the 60-part stem–branch cycle.
- Year pillar 年柱
- Yang Fire Horse · 丙午— Fire reinforces Fire; the year’s position in the 60-year cycle.
- Day Na Yin 纳音
- Sea Metal · 海中金— a fixed named element assigned to this pillar; its element is Metal.
- Day animal 生肖
- Ox · 牛— the animal of the earthly branch in this date’s pillar.
- Opposes 冲
- Yin Earth Goat · 己未— a Six Clash (六冲), the branch directly opposite this date’s branch in the 12-branch cycle.
- Lunar mansion 宿
- Room · 房— this date’s position in the repeating 28-mansion cycle.East palace (东) · Rabbit creature (兔) · traditionally favourable (吉)
- Day officer 建除
- Balance · 平— determined by this date’s earthly branch relative to its solar-term month branch.
- Auspicious directions 吉方
- Joy 喜神: Northwest (西北)
- Blessing 福神: Southwest (西南)
- Wealth 财神: Northeast (东北)
- Peng Zu lines 彭祖百忌
- The verse cautions against planting, saying even many plants may not grow.乙不栽植千株不长The verse cautions against ceremonial dress, saying the wearer may not return home.丑不冠带主不还乡Two traditional almanac caution lines selected by this date’s stem and branch.
All hours and their hour gods · UTC+8
Auspicious hours for Double Ninth Festival
Read every interval and its traditional classification. A favorable hour is separate from suitability for a particular activity.
Heavenly Punishment
InauspiciousVermilion Bird
InauspiciousGolden Coffer
AuspiciousHeavenly Virtue
AuspiciousWhite Tiger
InauspiciousJade Hall
AuspiciousHeavenly Prison
InauspiciousDark Warrior
InauspiciousController of Destiny
AuspiciousGou Chen
InauspiciousAzure Dragon
AuspiciousBright Hall
AuspiciousAzure Dragon
Auspicious
The Rat double-hour crosses midnight. Its 00:00–00:59 and 23:00–23:59 portions belong to different hourly cycles, so both are listed separately. How the hourly cycle works →
The Moon this month · UTC+8
October 2026 moon phases
Last quarter
Lunar 8/23
New moon
Lunar 9/1
First quarter
Lunar 9/10
Full moon
Lunar 9/17
Calculated phase moments use fixed UTC+8. A lunar day number and a Moon phase describe different things. How they fit together →
Plan around Double Ninth Festival
See the festival in its month or compare the surrounding days with your own birth-year animal.