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24 solar terms-Major Cold
Major Cold, the 24th solar term, marks the prelude to Chinese New Year. Piercing winds sweep across the land which is draped in a carpet of pristine white snow. Life takes on a dormant aspect, as it awaits with bated breath spring's arrival.
After Major Cold, Spring Festival is just around the corner. Families start to prepare for the upcoming event, cleaning their homes, curing meat and shopping for gifts. It is a time to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, and pray for peace and prosperity in the coming year. In southern regions, the tradition of
weiya ji or the year-end dinner sees businessmen hosting banquets to count the past year's blessings, inviting employees to celebrate together.
During Major Cold, which overlaps with the Spring Festival travel rush, train stations are brimming with people. Laden with heavy luggage and large bundles of Chinese New Year goodies, their faces beam with the joy of heading home.
Outside the window, the winter scenery blurs in the frosty wind, but the heart glows with the anticipation of a warm hearth, a hearty Chinese New Year's Eve meal, and the smiling faces of loved ones.
Ancient Chinese believed that during Major Cold, hens start to incubate their chicks, meat-eating birds such as falcons and kestrels become more ferocious and hunt for food for enough energy reserves to survive the bitter cold.
The ice on rivers and lakes freezes from the edge to the center, where it is strongest and thickest, owing to extreme wintry conditions.At this time, northern
China enters the peak season of snow and ice tourism, with people flocking to the ski slopes and ice rinks to revel in the joy of winter sports . On the snowy slopes, skiers descend with athletic grace, reveling in the thrill of the sport. On the ice rinks, skaters glide elegantly, carving fluid arcs on the glistening surface.
Major Cold marks the end of one cycle of the four seasons and the beginning of another, intertwining cold with warmth, departure with hope. As the poem goes, "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?" Let us, with a longing for a better life, quietly await the arrival of spring.
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