9th September: Chrysanthemum day

10 things you didn't know about Chrysanthemums:

1. The reason today is Chrysanthemum Day is probably because of the Chinese Double Ninth festival which takes place on the 9th day of the ninth lunar month. The festival originates from the fact that in Chinese spiritual tradition, the date has too much yang and is therefore dangerous, so they had to do things to ward off danger, which included climbing mountains and drinking chrysanthemum wine. Today, it has become a day to celebrate the flower - drink chrysanthemum tea and wine, learn poems about them or visit a chrysanthemum exhibit.
2. The Chrysanthemum plant is renowned as one of the Four Gentlemen in Chinese and East Asian art, the other three being the orchid, the bamboo and the plum blossom.
3. The name "chrysanthemum" is derived from the Greek words chrysos (gold) and anthemon (flower).
4. In Japan, the chrysanthemum is a symbol of the Emperor and Imperial family - specifically a golden chrysanthemum with sixteen petals. In the War of Dynasties, which began in 1357 and lasted for 55 years, warriors of the South wore a yellow chrysanthemum as a badge of courage.
5. The chrysanthemum was recognised as the official flower of the city of Chicago by Mayor Richard J. Daley in 1966.
6. Chrysanthemum plants are natural sources of a compound called pyrethrin, which is lethal to all insects, so they are useful as a natural, biodegradable insecticide.
7. In France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Poland, Hungary and Croatia, some types of the flower are symbolic of death and can only be used for funerals. It would be seen as very unlucky to have them in the house at any other time.
8. Other countries have a more positive image of them. In Australia, they are typically given as gifts on Mother's Day - possibly because of the common abbreviation to "mums" - but also because they are in season at that time. Men may wear one in their lapels to honour their mothers.
9. In China, Japan and Korea, white chrysanthemums are symbolic of lamentation and grief, but in Germany, they are associated with Christmas because of a legend about a German family who took in a starving, freezing beggar on Christmas Eve, fed and clothed him. The beggar, in due course, revealed himself to be the Christ Child and fled, leaving behind two white chrysanthemums. So in Germany, white chrysanthemums are brought indoors to symbolise sheltering the Christ Child.
10. Chrysanthemum plants have been shown to reduce indoor air pollution by the NASA Clean Air Study.