Major cold, the 24th solar term, begins this year on Jan 20 and ends on Feb 4. The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Major Cold is the last solar term in winter and also the last solar term in the annual lunar calendar. In this period, snow, rain and icy cold weather exert a big influence on people’s lives.

大寒是第二十四个节气，今年从1月20日至2月4日。中国传统农历将一年划分为24个节气。大寒是最后一个，同时也是一年中的最后一个节气。这段时间，雨雪天和寒冷低温会给人们的生活带来很大的影响。

Here are some things you should know about Major Cold.

以下是关于大寒你要知道的几件事。

La Ba Festival

腊八节

An important day during Major Cold is the La Ba Festival, when people usually eat La Ba porridge, a porridge with eight kinds of mixed grains and corn. The festival is celebrated on the eighth day of the 12th month (la yue) and is one of the most important traditional festivals in Chinese culture. It is also a prelude to the Chinese Lunar New Year. This year the La Ba Festival falls on Jan 24.

大寒期间最重要的一个节日就是腊八节了。在这一天，人们通常会吃腊八粥。这是一种由八种混合的谷物所熬制成的粥。腊八节是每年12月(腊月)的第八天，为中国传统文化中最重要的节日之一。腊八节揭开了中国春节春节的序幕。今年的1月24日是腊八节。

The festival was originally a day of thanks for a good harvest and sacrifice to ancestors. It also marks the day on which Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, reached enlightenment and became immortal.

腊八节最初是为了庆祝丰收，祭司先祖。同时它也是为了纪念佛教创始人——释迦摩尼在这一天开悟成道。

Eating "dispelling cold cake

吃“消寒糕”

During Major Cold, People in Beijing have a habit of eating "dispelling cold cake", a kind of rice cake. Sticky rice, the cake’s main ingredient, contains more sugar than rice, which can make people feel warm all over their bodies. In Chinese the word "rice cake" has the same pronunciation with the word "higher in a new year", which symbolizes good luck and continual promotion.

在大寒这一天，北京人民有吃“消寒糕”的习俗。它是年糕的一种，主要成分是比大米含糖量高的糯米，食用后会觉得全身暖和。在中国文字里，年糕还有“年高”之意，寓意吉祥如意、步步高升头。

Buying sesame straw

购买芝麻秸

Major Cold always coincides with the end of the year in lunar calendar. In some areas of China, people always fall over each other in eagerness to buy sesame straw during this period because of the old saying, "Rise joint by joint like sesame flowers on the stem." This saying is used to describe either ever-rising living standards or making steady progress in thought, studies or skills.

大寒节气，时常和岁末相重合。在中国的一些地区，人们总是争相在此期间购买芝麻秸，因为有句老话说，“芝麻开花节节高”。这句话常用来形容生活水平的不断提高，或是在思想，学习或技能方面取得稳步进展。

Cold as it is, it also happens to be the beginning of a freezing week as another round of very cold weather is ready to sweep across China starting. What should you eat to stay warm? Are there any eating taboos to help avoid the chilly weathers? Let’s hear what Chinese doctors say.

大寒期间天气已经相当冷了，恰逢又有新一轮冷空气横扫中国。那么吃点什么保暖呢？在冷天里有没有什么饮食讲究呢？让我们来听听中国医生们的建议吧。

Chinese yam meat balls

山药肉丸子

First things first. For staples, you may replace or add to rice or wheaten food starchy foods that are more tonic, like the Chinese yam. It helps strengthen the spleen and reinforce deficiency, and it is best for those who have deficiency in the blood and easily feels tired, says doctor Xia Gongxu from the Nanjing Hospital of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine.

民以食为天。南京市中西医结合医院夏公旭医师介绍说，在寒冷冬季，我们的主食可换些花样，比如将平时吃的大米或者面食换成、或加上一些更滋补的食材，比如山药。山药能健脾补虚，对那些血虚体质、易疲劳的人来说有很好的补益效果。

Mashed potato.

土豆泥

Another staple you might consider add to your diet is potato, which helps fill you up and avoidovereating. Potatoes are low in calories and fat, and are a good staple food choice for those whowant to keep fit and stay in shape at the same time.

再者你可以考虑将土豆作为主食加入到你的日常饮食中，它饱腹性好，能避免过量饮食。同时土豆的热量和脂肪都较低，对于那些希望保持健康的同时又保持体形的人来说，是主食的一个很好选择。

Angelica with beef soup

当归牛肉汤

For the main courses, Dr. Zhang Zhongai from Nan Jing Jinlin said that nutritious food like the carp, chicken and mutton are good choices to beat the cold.

对于主菜的选择，南京金陵的张中爱医生介绍说，营养丰富的食物，如鲤鱼、鸡肉和羊肉都是御寒不错的选择。

Zhang also warns, however, to avoid the trap of eating high calorie food to beat the cold, as such food may accumulate excessive internal heat, which in turn may makes one irritable and fretful.So, instead of eating fried chickens, it’s better to enjoy chicken soup. Stewed mutton is betterthan mutton kababs.

不过，张医生也警告说，不要为了御寒而陷入吃高热量食物的陷阱，因为这类食物可能加重身体的内热，让人上火而焦躁易怒。所以不要吃炸鸡，最好是喝鸡汤，炖羊肉也比烤羊肉串要好。

Angelica with beef soup is a good choice. As it helps enrich the blood and promotes blood circulation. The soup is especially good for menstruating women.

当归牛肉汤是一个很好的选择，它能补血，促进血液循环。而且它对月经期的女性特别有益。

Astragalus with chicken soup

黄芪鸡汤

The soup is quite nourishing in several ways. For one, the astragalus may dilate the blood vessels, and thus reduce blood pressure; for another, astragalus cooked with chicken may improve the immune system. The soup is good for the heart and it is especially suitable for those weak people, like the aged, women who just gave birth to babies,and those sweat easily.

这个汤非常滋补，体现在多方面，其一，黄芪可以扩张血管，从而降低血压；其二，黄芪和鸡肉搭配可以提高免疫力；其三，它对心脏有好处，尤其适合那些身体虚弱的人，比如老人，产妇，多汗的人。

Aside from staples and the main courses, you might want to have some soup during these cold days, as cold days are usually accompanied with chilly dry wind. Three soups are recommendedas they are conducive to enriching the blood, nourishing the lungs and invigorating the spleen.

因为冷天常常伴有干燥凛冽的寒风，除了这些主食和主菜，你可能还想喝些汤汤水水的。这里推荐三款能补血、润肺、健脾的粥。

Blood enriching porridge

补血粥

First soak the ingredients: red dates, red beans, black rice, peanuts,rice for 40 minutes, and then boil for ten minutes. You may enjoy the porridge with brown sugarafter simmering those ingredients for about 40 minutes. The porridge is especially good for women.

首先浸泡原材料：红枣，红豆，黑米，花生，大米泡40分钟，然后大火煮沸十分钟，再文火慢炖40分钟，最后加上红糖就可以享用了。这款粥对女性特别有好处。

Tremella lily porridge.

银耳百合粥

First soak the tremella and lily for about an hour, and then boil them with rice for about 10 minutes. Simmer them for about 40 minutes and add some honey to give the soup a sweet flavor before it’s served. The porridge is especially good for nourishing the lungs.

首先将银耳和百合浸泡约一小时，然后加上大米煮沸约10分钟，再文火慢炖40分钟，然后加点蜂蜜就可以吃了。这款粥有很好的润肺功效。

Chinese yam and rice porridge

山药大米粥

Soak the dry Chinese yam for a night and slice it. Cook the sliced Chinese yam with rice, simmer it for about 40 minutes after it comes to a boil. The porridge is ready to serve when the water gets kind of thick and white. The porridge helps invigorate the spleen.

把干山药浸泡一个晚上然后切片，再加上大米，煮开后，再文火炖40分钟左右当汤变得粘稠浓白时，粥就好了。这款粥有健脾功效。

（来源：爱语吧）