The Great Cold welcomes the New Year, the warm codes behind the customs of the north and south

Dahan is the last of the 24 solar terms, which means the old year is about to end and the new year is about to begin. Zhang Sigang wrote in "Dahan Snow in the Mountain" that "I am most suspicious of the weather, and spring will come soon", which further confirms this situation.

There is an important custom in Dahan: welcoming the New Year

The Great Cold solar term often coincides with the end of the year. Therefore, during this solar term, in addition to doing farm work according to the solar term, people also have to rush around for the New Year - going to the New Year market, buying New Year goods, writing Spring Festival couplets, preparing various sacrificial offerings, sweeping the house, getting rid of the old and bringing in the new, pickling various sausages and bacon, or frying and cooking various New Year dishes such as chicken, duck, fish and meat.

At the same time, people offer sacrifices to their ancestors and various gods, praying for good weather and good harvests in the coming year. In the old days, people often rushed to buy sesame straw on the streets during the Great Cold. Because "sesame blossoms grow higher and higher", on New Year's Eve, people sprinkled sesame straw on the road for children to crush, which is a homophonic meaning of "stepping on the year". At the same time, the homophonic meaning of "broken" and "year" is "peaceful every year", which is a good omen for the new year. This also makes the Great Cold Festival more meaningful to drive away evil and welcome auspiciousness.

Eat glutinous rice during the Great Cold in the South

In the vast areas of southern my country, there is a custom of eating glutinous rice during the Great Cold. Although this custom sounds simple, it contains the life experience accumulated by our ancestors. Because the weather is extremely cold during the Great Cold, glutinous rice is a high-calorie food that has a good effect of keeping out the cold. There are many ways to cook glutinous rice. Glutinous rice has the effect of replenishing the middle and replenishing qi, and it is most suitable to eat in the cold season.

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Great Cold in the North - Eating Dumplings and Laba Festival Activities

In the north, the Great Cold season often coincides with the Laba Festival. These two traditional customs are intertwined, adding a lot of warmth and peace to the cold winter.

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Dumplings are a favorite of northerners in winter, especially during the Great Cold, when every household loves to make dumplings. Those plump dumplings are like a family sitting together, reunited and warm. In some places in the north, there is a saying that "eating dumplings can prevent frozen ears", and there is actually a legend behind it. According to legend, the medical saint Zhang Zhongjing saw many poor people's ears frozen in winter, so he used mutton, peppers and other ingredients to make dumplings-shaped "jiao'er", cooked them and distributed them to the people. After everyone ate them, their ears were indeed warm and the frostbite was cured. From then on, every Great Cold, eating dumplings became a symbol of driving away the cold and keeping warm, praying for reunion and well-being, implying that the family will reunite in the new year, happy and happy, and can live a warm and cozy life in the cold winter. During the Great Cold, Laba porridge has also become a frequent guest on the northerners' tables. The ingredients of Laba porridge are rich and varied, usually including rice, millet, glutinous rice and other grains, paired with red dates, longan, peanuts, lotus seeds, walnuts and other dried fruits. The porridge is sweet, delicious and nutritious. In the cold season of the Great Cold, drinking a bowl of hot Laba porridge can not only warm the body, but also replenish the energy and nutrition needed by the body. Moreover, Laba porridge means praying for a happy life, good health and a good harvest in the new year. Those bowls of Laba porridge carry people's yearning for a better life and blessings for their families. Drinking them not only brings

Porridge is also a kind of warmth and hope.

The dietary principle during the Great Cold season is to preserve Yin and suppress Yang.

The diet should reduce saltiness and increase bitterness to nourish the heart and strengthen the kidney. Avoid sticky, hard, raw and cold food, and eat hot food to prevent damage to the spleen and stomach yang. However, do not eat too much dry and hot food. The taste of food can be slightly stronger, with a certain amount of lipids to maintain a certain amount of calories. In addition, you should eat more yellow and green vegetables, such as carrots, rapeseed, spinach, etc.

The Great Cold solar term is the coldest period of the year when yin is strong and yang is weak, but it is also the best time to nourish the human body.

Recommended medicated food:

(1) Angelica, ginger and mutton soup

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Angelica, ginger and mutton soup, from Zhang Zhongjing's "Golden Chamber", has the effects of nourishing qi and blood, warming the middle and kidneys, and is known as the "best soup for warming the body in winter". The "three winters" are cold in nature, so you can choose Angelica, ginger and mutton soup to reconcile.

Method: 20g angelica, 30g ginger, 500g mutton, appropriate amount of rice wine and seasoning. Wash and cut the mutton into pieces, add angelica, ginger, rice wine and seasoning, stew for 1-2 hours, eat the meat and drink the soup.

(2) Chicken stewed with Astragalus and Chinese wolfberry

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Efficacy: Nourish the middle and replenish qi, nourish yin and assist yang, and enhance immunity.

Preparation method: Wash a young chicken (about 500 grams), cut it into small pieces, add 30 grams of astragalus, 30 grams of wolfberry, 10 grams of white atractylodes, and seasonings such as onion, ginger, garlic, salt, and wine, simmer over low heat for 1 hour, eat the meat and drink the soup.

There are some tips for keeping healthy during the Great Cold

1. Go to bed early and get up late to store Yang energy

"The Plain Questions: The Great Treatise on the Four Qi and the Regulation of the Spirit" says: "The three months of winter are called hibernation... Go to bed early and get up late, and wait for the daylight." This sentence reveals the key points of health preservation in winter.

Going to bed early can nourish the body's yang energy, and getting up late can nourish the body's yin energy, maintaining the balance of yin and yang in the body. Ensuring adequate sleep is beneficial to the hiding of yang energy and the accumulation of yin essence.

During this period, it is not recommended to engage in outdoor exercise in cold mornings or evenings.

2. Protect your head and feet from cold

During the Great Cold solar term, the weather is cold and the ground is frozen, which can easily damage the body's yang energy. The blood in the human body is easy to flow when it is warm, but it is easy to stagnate when it is cold. Therefore, winter is the season when cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as cerebral thrombosis and myocardial infarction, as well as joint pain, colds and other diseases are more common. "The head is the confluence of all yang, and the cold starts from the feet." Only by keeping these two parts warm can the body be truly warm and less prone to disease.

3. Drink plenty of water to protect your yin essence

Generally speaking, the precipitation in the Yangtze River Basin decreases from the winter solstice, and the Great Cold solar term one month later is the driest period. As the moisture between heaven and earth decreases, the yin fluid in the human body will also be insufficient, and the use of heating and air conditioning will aggravate this dryness. Therefore, it is particularly important to replenish water.

For healthy adults, you should increase your water intake as much as possible. It is best to drink a glass of warm water before going to bed and after getting up every day. If conditions permit, you can often drink pear juice to nourish yin and produce body fluid, moisten dryness and relieve cough, and prevent dry mouth and throat caused by dry weather. You can also boil radish water (preferably white radish) to drink, which can regulate qi and strengthen the spleen, clear heat and promote urination, and also promote digestion.

4. According to traditional Chinese medicine, “anger hurts the liver”

During the Great Cold, the wind is cold and everything withers, which can easily make people lose their spirits, panic, and become depressed, which is harmful to physical and mental health. It is best to relax, pay attention to regulating emotions, and maintain a relaxed and happy mood, which is beneficial to health.

The Great Cold, this ancient solar term, carries the passage of time and the precipitation of culture. It is not only the node of the reincarnation of natural seasons, but also an important manifestation of the traditional culture of the Chinese nation. From south to north, although the customs of different places are different, they all contain people's love for life, pursuit of health and good expectations for the New Year. In this cold season, let us feel the wisdom and warmth from our ancestors in the busy preparations for the New Year; experience the unique charm of regional culture when tasting the special foods of various places; protect our bodies in the actions of health care and meet the challenges and opportunities of the new year. Although the Great Cold is cold, it has the warmth of home, the heat of culture and the vision of the future. This solar term is no longer just a synonym for cold, but a starting point for hope and rebirth.

Source: Calendar Network, The Paper, Yexie Town Community Health Service Center, Weather Network, Health China, 317 Health Education

Source: Chongqing Tianji Network Co., Ltd.

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