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。传统上，中国的阴历日历将一年划分为24个节气。大寒是冬天的最后一个节气，同时也是一年中的最后一个节气。这段时间，飘雪、雨水和寒冷天气会深深地影响到人们的生活。

Here are things you should know about Major Cold。

以下是关于大寒你需要知道的几件事。

1、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（阴历2017年） 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月的第八天，为中国传统文化中最重要的节日之一。腊八节也是中国春节的前奏。今年的腊八节是1月24日。

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。同时它也标志着佛教创始人—释迦摩尼的成道之日。

2、Eating fried spring roll（吃春卷）

In Anqing of Anhui province, people traditionally eat fried spring rolls during Major

Cold. They use a round, cooked, thin pancake to wrap stuffing（馅料） in a thin roll. Then it is fried in a pan with oil until it turns yellow and floats to the top. The stuffing inside the spring roll contains meat or vegetables and the flavor can be salty or sweet.

大寒期间，安徽省的安庆市的人们通常会吃春卷。他们会用圆的烤薄饼包上馅料卷成瘦长的卷，然后放到油锅中炸至金黄色，漂浮在油面之上。春卷里的馅料通常有肉或蔬菜，口味也有咸、甜之分。

3、Doing winter sports（冬季运动）

There is a saying that goes, "Dripping water freezes during Minor and Major Cold." In various regions of China, Major Cold is the perfect time for winter sports such as skiing, ice skating and sledding（滑雪橇）.

有这样一句谚语：”小寒大寒，滴水成冰。”在中国的许多地方，大寒时的天气最适合冬季运动，比如滑雪、滑冰和滑雪橇。

　4、 Cold current（寒潮来袭）

　During Major Cold， as the cold current moves southward， the weather is very cold。 Although modern meteorological observation shows that in some regions of China the weather during Major Cold is not colder than Minor Cold， the lowest temperatures of the whole year still occur in the Major Cold period in some coastal areas。

　　大寒期间，因为寒流向南方移动，天气变得非常寒冷。尽管现代气象观测显示，在中国的一些地区，大寒并没有小寒时冷，但在一些沿海地区，全年的最低气温仍然出现大寒期间。

　5、Drinking stewed soup( 喝汤取暖)

　Residents in Nanjing of Jiangsu province like to drink stewed soup during Major Cold， which can make people feel warm from head to foot。 They always stew the aged hen soup with ginseng， matrimony vine and black fungus。　　江苏南京市民喜欢在大寒这天偎汤喝，能让人从头暖到脚。他们总是喜欢炖人参枸杞黑木耳老母鸡汤。