Monday, May 31, 2010

A banquet held once in 60 years

   In Xiaolan town, Guangzhou province, China, there is a very special tradition - to host a  Chrysanthemum Banquet only in the year of the Wood Dog. The Wood Dog Year (Jia Xu 甲戌) happens once in 60 years, so you can imagine what a rare event it is!
  
   The tradition of the Chrysanthemum Banquet started in 1814 (year of Wood Dog), during the reign of emperor Jia Qing. Xiaolan town is famous for the cultivation of chrysanthemum flowers. In 1814 several local chrysanthemum societies joined together and in order to celebrate the event they organized a big chrysanthemum festival with a banquet of various chrysanthemum dishes. The Chrysanthemum Banquet was held again in 1874, 1934 and 1994  -  four times altogether.




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