Editor's note: the twenty-four solar terms, as a supplementary calendar for guiding farming in ancient China, are the fruits of the long-term experience and wisdom of the working people in China. This broad and profound scientific and cultural system is one of the quintessence and representatives of the excellent traditional Chinese culture. In order to further carry forward traditional culture, enhance the majority of Internet users' understanding and interest in traditional culture, and further strengthen their cultural self-confidence, a series of themed activities of Xi'an "Online China Festival" and "Xi'an in the solar terms" sponsored by the Xi'an Municipal Office of the CPC Xi'an Municipal Committee launched a series of cultural popular science articles to experience the charm of traditional culture and inherit the new trend of civilization of the times.

 

With the approaching steps of the Spring Festival, on January 20, we ushered in the last of the twenty-four solar terms - Major Cold. At this time, the human winter color is over, and the spring flowers bloom soon.

According to the three rites and righteousness school quoted in the general examination of time service - Tianshi, "the cold is the middle, which is shaped in the small cold, so it is called great... The reverse of the cold is extreme, so it is called great cold." the extreme says that Major Cold is cold.

Major Cold is the coldest time of the year and also the period with the least rain. At this time of year, the sky is cold and the ground is cracked, the wind is sad and the trees are singing, and the cold field is vast. Like Xiao Han, Da Han is also a solar term indicating the cold degree of the weather. As the folk saying goes, "a little cold and a big cold make you cold when there is no wind." "a little cold and a big cold make you cold.". So who is colder, Xiao Han or Da Han? According to statistics, the coldest period in northern China is almost the middle of January. The mild cold solar term is colder than the severe cold solar term. There is even an old saying "mild cold is better than severe cold, which is not uncommon". However, the coldest period in southern China is often in late January, so it is considered that the cold solar term is more extreme.

In ancient China, Major Cold was divided into three periods: "the first period is when the chicken starts to milk, the second period is when the bird starts to get sick, and the third period is when the water is clear and the stomach is firm.". In the cold solar terms, the Yang Qi sprouts, and the hens begin to hatch chicks, ready to meet the arrival of a new generation of life. Hunting birds such as hawks and falcons hover in the air and hunt food with rapid "skills". At the end of the cold winter, even in the middle of the lake, it will be frozen very hard, like a mirror on the ice lake, people enjoy playing.

There are flowers in Major Cold, and three times you can smell the fragrance: "one time for Daphne odora, two times for orchids, and three times for alum". The three flowers are clear and meaningful. They all bloom in the cold winter, and the fragrance is clear and long.

"The extreme cold has reached its climax, and the days will be warmer in the future." although the extreme cold season is cold and freezing, it is the so-called saying that things will turn against each other when things turn sour. The arrival of the extreme cold means the end of the four seasons and the beginning of the new year. Just as Yuan Zhen, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in his poem: "the wine is filled with wine, and the gold stove and animal charcoal are warm. In the cold, you should be close to the fire, and don't open the door when nothing happens. Winter and spring alternate, and the stars and the moon surround you. In the Ming Dynasty, a new law is changed, and plum and willows wait for spring." it's cold. It's beautiful to warm up in the stove at home and talk and have fun. Winter has passed, and the vigorous spring is coming. The

Of course, not everyone is as optimistic as Yuan Zhen. In the cold season, Luyou, a great poet who is trapped at home reading, is a little sad. "Before the cold and snow disappear, you can't go out when you close your door. It's a pity to cut the cloud crown. This is a room for your knees." Shaoyong's "Ode to the cold" in the Song Dynasty also explains the scene of winter in which the old snow hasn't melted and new snow has fallen. "Before the old snow disappears, the new snow has returned to your home, the silver bed is frozen in front of the steps, and the ice bell milk is on the cornice.".

"After Major Cold, it is another year". As the last solar term of the last month, "the twelfth lunar month", Major Cold is a slack season, but families are more "busy" because they are busy catching up with the new year's fair, preparing new year's goods, cleaning... To welcome the Spring Festival, the most important festival of the year, that is, "Major Cold welcomes the new year". The

"Sugar melons stick on the 23rd, the house is clean on the 24th" and "the twelfth month does not sweep away the dust, and the God of plague will be summoned in the coming year". From Major Cold to the lunar new year, there will be a series of activities to welcome the arrival of the new year. As the Yisi year of the snake is approaching, the flavor of the new year in the streets and lanes of Xi'an, the ancient capital, is becoming stronger and stronger. In particular, the New Year Festival, which has a variety of categories and forms, meets all the expectations of the new year in the activities of removing the old and decorating the new.

On January 11, the 16 day 2025 Shaanxi new year Shopping Festival and the 20th Xi'an New Year Shopping Festival opened in Xi'an International Convention and Exhibition Center. Nearly a thousand international standard booths gathered more than ten thousand kinds of new year products from more than 20 provinces and cities across the country, such as sugar, wine, food, agricultural and sideline specialties, fresh aquatic products, clothing and clothing, household general merchandise, imported goods, intangible cultural heritage, etc., bringing a wonderful and lively new year consumption feast to the public. In addition, in Xi'an's major community shopping malls and scenic spots, there are online New Year Festival, intangible cultural heritage New Year Shopping month, new year goods entering the community and other activities, which make the old city Xi'an traditional, fashionable, unique and charming.

"Spring rains startle the spring and clear the valley. Summer is full of light and summer is connected. Autumn dew, autumn cold and frost fall, winter snow and winter cold." each solar term goes back and forth with the rise and fall of yin and Yang. It begins at the beginning of spring and ends in the cold. It continues year after year. Just as the saying goes, "the creation has no words but has feelings. Every time it feels cold, it will be born in spring. The red flowers and purple flowers are arranged, waiting for the first sound of the new thunder.".

In the warm frost, spring is brewed into winter. In the past year, no matter how much melancholy and regret, they all went away like the winter wind. At the arrival of the new year, it is advisable to chant "thousands of sails pass by the side of a sunken boat, and thousands of trees spring in front of a diseased tree". With an optimistic attitude, full enthusiasm and healthy physique, we can welcome the new four seasons and embrace the next time cycle. Cold is spring life, hard is sweet, the end of the year into a new beginning, all lines are perfect.