Which is the coldest, Lesser Cold or Greater Cold? What taboos do people have about this kind of weather?

Which is the coldest, Lesser Cold or Greater Cold? What taboos do people have about this kind of weather?
Minor Cold is the time when the old year is coming to an end and the new year is about to begin. So which is the coldest, Minor Cold or Major Cold? What taboos do people have about this kind of weather? “The winter solstice falls on the first day of the lunar month, and it is the will of heaven, which ends and begins again.” What is the daily fortune in the eleventh month of the lunar calendar when the winter solstice occurs? Let’s follow Mr. Shui Mo to take a look at the special topic for November of the lunar calendar in 2020.

Which is the coldest, Xiaohan or Dahan?

【Statement 1】
The Lesser Cold and Greater Cold solar terms indicate the degree of coldness of the weather:
The Xiaohan solar term is slightly less cold in terms of its literal meaning, and the weather is only slightly cold.
The weather will become cold over a large area during the Great Cold solar term, and even the southern regions will begin to experience freezing weather.
【Explanation 2】
Judging from the order of the solar terms and their literal meaning, Dahan should be colder than Xiaohan, but in fact it is not.
Although Xiaohan means "small", it is actually much colder than Dahan. As the saying goes, "the coldest days are in the 39th day of winter", and the "39th day of winter" happens to be within the Xiaohan solar term.
Meteorological records over the years also show that Xiaohan is indeed colder than Dahan, and can be said to be the coldest of the 24 solar terms in the year.

What taboos do people have about this kind of weather?

During the Lesser Cold season, people avoid seeing warm weather. There is a saying that goes, "If the weather is hot in the Lesser Cold, don't even think about it if it's very cold in the Greater Cold."
What this means is that Minor Cold is a time of harsh weather. If it is not cold enough, by the time Major Cold comes, the weather will be extremely cold, so cold that it cannot be described in words.
People also avoid snow during this solar term. There is a saying that "if it doesn't snow during the Lesser Cold and Greater Cold, the fields will dry up and crack during the Lesser Heat and Greater Heat." They believe that if it doesn't snow during this solar term, there will be a severe drought in the coming year.
It is taboo to have warm weather before and after the Minor Cold because according to the usual natural laws, strong cold air and cold waves will arrive from the north, and the weather will be cold.
It is also taboo not to snow during the Minor Cold solar term. If there is no snow during the Minor Cold, drought will occur the following year. There is a saying that goes, "If there is no snow during the Minor Cold and Greater Cold, the fields will dry up and crack during the Minor Heat and Greater Heat."

2021 Minor Cold Customs

1. Draw the picture and count to nine
Origin: Yellow River Basin. It is said that in the early years, farmers in the Yellow River Basin would use the "Nine-Nine Cold Elimination Chart" to avoid the cold and maintain health during the Minor Cold.
Introduction: Jiujiu Xiaohan Tu is a double-hooked red-traced calligraphy with the words "The willows in front of the pavilion wait patiently for the spring phoenix" in traditional Chinese characters. Each of the nine characters has nine strokes, totaling eighty-one strokes.
Starting from the winter solstice, one stroke is filled in every day according to the stroke order, and one character is filled in every nine days. After the nine-nine days, when spring returns to the earth, a nine-nine cold-relieving picture is considered completed.
The Lesser Cold solar term falls during the 39th day of severe cold, so the folk custom of “drawing pictures and counting the nine cold days” is closely related to the Lesser Cold solar term.
Counting the nine cold days and tracing calligraphy can not only help to dispel the cold, but also be a good way to relax and maintain health in winter.
2. Eat glutinous rice
Origin: Guangzhou tradition.
Introduction: Eat glutinous rice in the morning of Xiaohan. To avoid it being too sticky, it is usually 60% glutinous rice and 40% fragrant rice. Chop the bacon and sausage, fry them, fry the peanuts, add some chopped green onion, and mix it with the rice.
3. Tonic ointment prescription
Origin: The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine states: "In spring and summer, nourish yang, and in autumn and winter, nourish yin."
Introduction: In winter, all things are hidden. Health preservation should follow the trend of nature's hiding and nourish the internal organs. Paste prescriptions can not only prevent and treat diseases, but also nourish the body and strengthen the physique.
When the Lesser Cold season comes, it is also the busiest time to take tonic pastes. Generally, the pastes prepared at the beginning of winter are almost consumed. At this time, some families will cook a little more and eat it around the Spring Festival.
4. Eat Laba Congee
Introduction: "Yanjing Sui Shi Ji" records that "Laba porridge is made of yellow rice, white rice, glutinous rice, millet, water chestnut rice, chestnuts, red cowpeas, peeled jujube paste, etc., boiled with water, and then dyed with red peach kernels, almonds, melon seeds, peanuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, white sugar, brown sugar, and grapes for coloring."
The above-mentioned foods are all sweet and warm in nature, and have the effects of regulating the spleen and stomach, tonifying the middle and replenishing Qi, nourishing Qi and blood, dispelling cold and strengthening the body, and promoting body fluid and quenching thirst.
The ancient Chinese called porridge "the best thing in the world for nourishing people" and believed that eating porridge could prolong life. Li Shizhen said in "Compendium of Materia Medica" that porridge can "replenish qi, produce body fluids, nourish the spleen and stomach, and treat deficiency and cold."
Zhang Lei's "Porridge Notes" also said: "Every morning, eat a large bowl of porridge. The empty stomach will make the grain gas work. The porridge is not fine, but very soft and smooth, which is in harmony with the stomach and intestines. It is the best secret of diet."

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