The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Minor Cold， xiaohan， the 23rd solar term， begins this year on Jan 5 and ends on Jan 19.

During Minor Cold， most areas in China have entered the bitter cold stage of winter. Theground and rivers are frozen. The cold air from the north moves southward continuously.

Here are six things you should know about Minor Cold.

Sanjiu

Although“ Minor Cold”means less cold than the following solar term， “Major Cold”， there isan old saying in China that goes， “The days of the Sanjiu period are the coldest days”. “ Sanjiuperiod”refers to the third nine-day period（the 19th～27th days）after the day of the Winter Solstice， which is in Minor Cold. Actually Minor Cold is normally the coldest period of winter. It is important tokeep warm during this period.

Cuisines fit for Minor CoId

From the perspective of dietary health care， during Minor Cold people should eat some hot foodto benefit the body and defend against the invasion of cold weather-hot foods like trout， pepper， cinnamon， leeks， fennel and parsley. Now is the best time to have hot pot and braised mutton withsoy sauce. But it is sensible to notice that too much spicy food may cause acute gastritis.

Winter exercise

There is an old Chinese saying that goes， “Get exercise in the coldest days of winter.” Generally， Minor Cold is the coldest period in China， which is the best time for exercising andimproving one’s physique. To keep warm， the children of China have special games to play， such ashoop rolling and the cockfighting game.

Eating huangyacai

In Tianjin， there is a custom to have huangyacai， a kind of Chinese cabbage， during Minor Cold. There are large amounts of vitamins A and B in huangyacai. As huangyacai is fresh and tender， it isfit for frying， roasting and braising.

Eating glutinous rice

According to tradition， the Cantonese eat glutinous rice in the morning during Minor Cold. Cantonese people add some fried preserved pork， sausage and peanuts and mix them into the rice. According to the theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine， glutinous rice has the effect of tonifyingthe spleen and stomach in the cold season.

Eating vegetable rice

In ancient times， people in Nanjing took Minor Cold quite seriously， but as time went by， the celebration of Minor Coldgradually faded. However， the custom of eating vegetable rice isstill followed today.

The rice is steamed and is unspeakably delicious. Amongthe ingredients， aijiaohuang（a kind of green vegetable）， sausage and salted duck are the specialties in Nanjing.

中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)農(nóng)歷中，一年有24個(gè)節(jié)氣。小寒是一年中的第23個(gè)節(jié)氣，今年從1月5日開始，到1月19日結(jié)束。

小寒節(jié)氣間，中國(guó)大部分地區(qū)都已進(jìn)入寒冬時(shí)節(jié)。土地和河流都被冰凍。北方的冷空氣持續(xù)南下。

如下是關(guān)于小寒你應(yīng)該知道的6件事。

一、三九

盡管“小寒”的意思是，和下個(gè)節(jié)氣“大寒”相比，不如“大寒”冷，但中國(guó)有一句老話說“數(shù)九寒天，冷在三九”。“三九時(shí)節(jié)”指的是冬至過后第三個(gè)九天（第19到27天），恰好就在小寒內(nèi)。事實(shí)上，小寒通常是冬天最冷的時(shí)候。在這期間保暖很重要。

二、美食進(jìn)補(bǔ)正當(dāng)時(shí)

從膳食健康的角度看，小寒期間，人們應(yīng)該進(jìn)食一些熱性的食物以滋補(bǔ)身體、抵御嚴(yán)寒，比如像鮭魚、辣椒、肉桂、大蔥、茴香和香菜等。這時(shí)是吃火鍋和紅燒羊肉的最好時(shí)節(jié)，但也應(yīng)該注意，吃了太多辛辣食物會(huì)引起急性胃炎。

三、冬練強(qiáng)身健體

中國(guó)有一句老話說“冬練三九?！币话銇碚f，小寒是中國(guó)最冷的時(shí)候，也是鍛煉增強(qiáng)體質(zhì)的最佳時(shí)機(jī)。中國(guó)孩子們會(huì)玩一些特別的游戲，例如滾鐵環(huán)和斗雞等以保暖。

四、吃黃芽菜

天津有在小寒時(shí)吃黃芽菜（一種中國(guó)大白菜）的習(xí)俗。黃芽菜富含維生素A和維生素B。它非常鮮嫩，適合炒、燒、燜等做法。

五、吃糯米

按照傳統(tǒng)，廣東人在小寒期間的早上要吃糯米飯。他們會(huì)將一些煎好的臘豬肉、香腸和花生加到糯米飯中。根據(jù)中醫(yī)理論，在寒冷季節(jié)食用糯米飯有補(bǔ)脾益胃的功效。

六、吃菜飯

古時(shí)，南京人對(duì)小寒很重視，但隨著時(shí)間的推移，對(duì)小寒的慶祝逐漸消失了。不過，吃菜飯的習(xí)俗仍然沿用至今。

這種米飯是蒸熟的，有一種無法言說的美味。它的配料中矮腳黃（一種綠色蔬菜）、香腸和鹽水鴨都是南京特產(chǎn)。