What does light snow mean today?

Light snow is the twentieth solar term among the twenty-four solar terms and the second solar term in winter. Entering the light snow solar term means that the temperature continues to fall and the weather gradually turns cold. For many areas, it will start to snow during this time.

Light snow is a solar term reflecting precipitation and temperature, and it is a solar term with high frequency of cold wave and strong cold air activity. The arrival of the light snow solar term means that the weather is getting colder and colder and the precipitation is gradually increasing.

"Snow" is the product of cold weather, so "light snow" is used to describe the climate characteristics of this solar term "the climate is not deep and the precipitation is not heavy". The "light snow" solar term reflects the changing trend of temperature and precipitation, and does not mean that there is a small amount of snow under this solar term. The solar term "light snow" is not necessarily related to the "light snow" in the weather.

During the light snow solar term, a relatively stable meridional circulation has been established in East Asia, and low pressure or trough often appears in Siberia. When moving eastward, there will be a wide range of cold air going south, which will bring a wide range of strong winds and cool weather.

Xiaoxue folk custom:

Light snow is the second solar term in winter, and the continuous snowfall in the north means the official arrival of winter. So the folk activities before and after the light snow are also related to winter. In terms of diet, many places have the custom of making pickles and bacon in the light snow season, and some places also have the custom of making wine.

Today, people generally regard these as a kind of food, but in ancient times, they were all used to have enough food, meat and wine to eat in the long winter, and also to celebrate the harvest. Therefore, there is a folk saying that "winter wax is cured by wind and stored to keep out the cold".

The reason why Xiaoxue was chosen to start this work may be related to the rapid temperature drop and dry weather after Xiaoxue, which is more suitable for processing bacon.

Reference to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Xiaoxue