"Flowers and trees control the season, and birds sing to report the agricultural season." Time is rushing, and the great cold in the twenty-four solar terms has come as promised.
When it is very cold, the temperature is very low. In the old days, people took ice and stored it for use in summer. In addition, An Deming, deputy director of the Institute of Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and vice-chairman of the Chinese Folk Writers Association, said that the Great Cold is the last solar term in the twenty-four solar terms. As the Lunar New Year approaches, there is also a saying that "the Great Cold welcomes the New Year".
Getting ready for Chinese New Year
Dahan, like Xiaohan, is a solar term that indicates the degree of coldness of the weather. From the time point of view, Dahan is on January 20-21 of the Gregorian calendar every year.
The ancients divided the great cold into three phases: "One is for chicken milk; the second is for bird's severe illness; and the third is for water and belly-hardened."
"When it's very cold, it's usually the 'four or nine' season. In ancient times, there was less farm work in winter, and people invented some games, such as the nine-nine-cold elimination map, etc., to kill time." Anderming said.
Among the above-mentioned "cold relief pictures", there are two popular ones, namely dyeing plums and crosswords. For example, draw nine cold plums on white paper, each with nine flowers, one for nineteen and one for a day, and fill a plum blossom with a specific color every day according to the weather.
In terms of diet, writer Liu Yida once said that the old Beijingers in memory like to eat frozen persimmons and frozen sour pears before and after the big cold.
The Great Cold is the last solar term in the twenty-four solar terms.
This solar term often coincides with the end of the year, and some folk customs during the period have more meanings of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new. During the cold season, every household is busy preparing for the Lunar New Year—salting bacon, stocking up on New Year's goods, and buying some new clothes.
"Sweeping the dust, sticking to the New Year's Day, and other activities before the New Year's Day, the time of their appearance coincides with the time period of Dahan. Their formation is not necessarily related to this solar term, but it enriches the cultural content of Dahan." Ender Ming said.
“花木管时令，鸟鸣报农时。”时光匆匆，二十四节气中的大寒，也如约而至。
大寒时气温很低，旧时，人们取冰、藏冰，以备夏日使用。此外，中国社会科学院文学所副所长、中国民间文艺家协会副主席安德明表示，大寒是二十四节气中的最后一个节气，临近农历新年，也有“大寒迎年”的说法。
准备迎接农历新年
大寒同小寒一样，是表示天气寒冷程度的节气。从时间上看，大寒于每年公历1月20—21日交节。
古人将大寒分为三候：“一候鸡乳；二候征鸟厉疾；三候水泽腹坚。”也就是说，大寒时气温很低，冰可以一直冻到水中央。
“大寒时，通常是进入‘四九’时节。古代，冬季农活比较少，人们发明了一些游戏，比如九九消寒图等等，来消磨时间。”安德明说。
上述“消寒图”中，比较流行的有两种，即染梅与填字。例如，在白纸上绘制九枝寒梅，每枝九朵，一枝对应一九，一朵对应一天，每天根据天气实况用特定的颜色填充一朵梅花。
在饮食方面，作家刘一达曾表示，记忆中的老北京人喜欢在大寒前后吃冰柿子跟冻酸梨，“也会邀三五亲朋，围炉吃火锅，别有一番风味”。
大寒是二十四节气中的最后一个节气，素来有“大寒迎年”的说法。
该节气往往与岁末时间相重合，期间的一些民俗多了些辞旧迎新的意味。在大寒时节，家家户户忙着为迎接农历新年做准备——腌腊肉、备年货，再添置些新衣服。
“扫尘、贴年红等过年前的一些活动，它们出现的时间正好和大寒在时间段上有重叠之处。其形成和这个节气没有必然联系，但是丰富了大寒的文化内容。”安德明称。
(新华网)
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