What folk customs were there during the Great Cold?

The severe cold solar terms often coincide with the end of the year. Therefore, in this solar term, in addition to doing farm work according to the solar term, we have to rush about for the New Year-catching new year's goods, buying new year's goods, writing Spring Festival couplets, preparing all kinds of sacrificial supplies, sweeping away dust and cleaning things, preparing new year's goods from old cloth, curing all kinds of sausages and bacon, or cooking new year's dishes such as chicken, duck and fish. At the same time, sacrifice ancestors and various gods to pray for good weather in the coming year. In the streets of the old cold season, people often rushed to buy sesame stalks. Because "sesame blossoms are getting higher and higher", on New Year's Eve, people scatter sesame stalks on the way outside for a walk, so that children can crush them, which is homophonic "stepping on the old". At the same time, the homonym of "crush" and "old" means "peace all the year round" and won a good New Year greeting. This also makes the great cold drive away evil and welcome auspicious festivals more intense.

The great cold solar term is also a tonic season. Looking forward to catching the vitality of Shaoyang after the severe cold in spring. For people with weak constitution, tonic due to severe cold is still an important content. In the old days, there was a saying that "wind-cold cold, wind-cold cold cold, drinking ginseng and astragalus wine early and taking Qiju Dihuang pills late". In Foshan, Guangdong, there is a folk custom of cooking glutinous rice in a large cold-keeping tile pot. Glutinous rice is sweet and warm, and its sugar content is higher than that of ordinary rice, so it has the effect of keeping out the cold and nourishing. Rich people pay more attention to cold food. Due to the handover of Great Cold and beginning of spring, the amount of food supplemented by Great Cold gradually decreased, and more ascending and dispersing foods such as Guangxi, ginger, Bupleurum, ginseng and Pinellia were added to adapt to the rise of everything in the future spring.