What are the customs of Xiaohan in 24 solar terms?

　　The Xiaohan solar term crosses the solar term at 1:14 pm, and the sun reaches 285° of ecliptic longitude. According to the ancient method of judging solar terms by using the Big Dipper, Douzhiwu is Xiaohan. The ancients believed that cold air accumulated for a long time and the coldness was not extreme, so it was called Xiaohan. It is the twelfth month of the lunar calendar.

　　As the saying goes, "cold comes in the third nine and hot comes in the third volt." This year's Xiaohan intersects with the "three nines" in winter, so entering the Xiaohan also means entering the coldest time of the year. According to reports from the Meteorological Department, the average temperature during the Xiaohan solar term in Northeast my country is around -30°C, with the lowest temperature reaching -50°C. The average temperature in the Yellow River Basin is around -5°C, and the average temperature in the Jiangnan region has also dropped to around 5°C. In normal times, strong cold air will move south, causing the temperature to drop even lower in the short term.

　　According to ancient almanac records, the phenological characteristics of the Xiaohan solar term are "in Yanbei Township, magpies begin to nest and pheasants begin to nest". During the Lesser Cold, the ground is cold and the Yang energy is budding. The migratory birds and geese move in accordance with the Yang energy, and there are signs of flying north at this time. Magpies are resident birds that sense the budding Yang energy and build nests. During the Lesser Cold, they begin to build nests and open their nest doors to the south to avoid the cold wind from the north. Pheasants, commonly known as pheasants, also feel the Yang energy and make sounds, and begin to chirp during the Lesser Cold season. These phenological phenomena remind people of the arrival of Xiaohan and the beginning of production, farming and life in this solar term.

　　The weather in Xiaohan is extremely cold, and the geographical span between the north and the south is large, resulting in different production, farming and living customs. In terms of farming, the fields in most areas in the north are no longer active, and they have to rest for the winter. The main tasks are to do vegetable cellars, keep livestock houses warm, and make fertilizer and accumulate fertilizer at home. In the past, livestock such as cattle and horses were the main labor force of the family and required special maintenance. The weather in Xiaohan is the coldest, so you should pay more attention to keeping livestock warm. Folks often light fires in cowsheds and stables to keep warm. Small animals are more cautious to keep out the cold - lay individual straw mats and hang straw curtains to keep out the wind. Fastidious people will use warm water to drink livestock to minimize the physical consumption of the livestock and prevent disease , and add a little salt to the drinking water to supplement the loss of salt in livestock during cold weather and enhance the immunity of livestock. In daily life, we see livestock licking the base of walls and drinking dirty water. This is a sign that livestock are short of salt and lick the salt in the soil at the base of walls or absorb salt from dirty water. During the minor cold season in the south, it is necessary to clear rape ditches and topdress wheat. If strong cold air is encountered, plant ash, crop straw or manure should be sprinkled on the ground to help the crops survive the coldest season. Based on many years of farming experience, people often predict the climate change in the coming year based on the minor cold weather and make farming plans early. For example, in Shandong there is a saying that "if there is no rain in the minor cold, there will be drought in the big summer" and "if there are clouds and fog in the minor cold, it will definitely be a drought year in the coming spring".

　　In life, in addition to paying attention to daily keeping warm, the taste of the Lesser Cold Year is getting stronger. People are busy writing Spring Festival couplets, cutting window grilles, and going to the market to buy New Year pictures, lanterns, firecrackers, incense, etc., to prepare for the Spring Festival. In terms of food, mutton hot pot, sugar-fried chestnuts, and roasted sweet potatoes have become the fashion in Xiaohan. As the saying goes, "Three-nine nourishes one winter, and there will be no pain in the coming year." This refers to the practice of eating mutton in winter to recuperate the body. According to "Jinmen Miscellaneous Notes", in the old days in Tianjin, there was a custom of Xiaohan eating soybean sprouts. Yellow bean sprouts are a specialty of Tianjin and are made from cabbage sprouts. After the winter solstice, cut off the stems and leaves of cabbage, leaving only the heart, about two inches above the ground, cover it with manure and keep it from breathing. Eat it after half a month. It will be extremely crisp and tender, making up for the lack of winter vegetables. But modern people's living standards have improved, and all kinds of meat and vegetables are available in all seasons. They no longer worry about the scarcity of vegetables in winter as they did in the past.