Precipitating the big chill

    By Zhang Lei | China Daily | Updated: 2022-11-22 08:15
    Share
    Share - WeChat
    Farmers in Baoying county, Jiangsu province, harvest lotus roots.[Photo provided to China Daily]

    Customary behavior

    In the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the White Snow Festival is usually held around this time of the year, when family and friends gather to dine, sing and dance in celebration of the first snowfall and pray for a good harvest in the coming year.

    The Uygur people have a kind of reverence for the color of white, as, to them, it symbolizes the rays of sun.

    Out of their many customs, one of the most intriguing is the sending of "snow letters".

    At the beginning of the snowfall, several friends will jointly write a "snow letter", and select one of them to "deliver" it to another friend's house. They congratulate the friend and his family in the form of poetry, and finally in the letter asks the recipient to host an evening of entertainment. The messenger must skillfully place the letter somewhere in the recipient's home that it will not be easily found. If the host finds the letter before the messenger leaves, the messenger will be forced to host the party.

    Moreover, the intended recipient will smear coal on the face of the messenger and make him ride back home on a donkey. At the party, each participant must perform to praise the snow, or their pure friendship and peaceful life, like the snow, will melt away.

    The party will enter a climax when everyone plays and dances with joy. The dances of the Uygur people are known for their fast and varied rotations. The young men and women at the party perform various dances one after another until late into the night.

    The ancients divided xiaoxue into three equal minor terms, describing the climate change with three omens. During the first five days, rainbows are nowhere to be seen. In the second minor term the yang energy begins to rise and the yin energy will sink. The last term sees all things turn silent.

    Xiaoxue signifies that winter has officially arrived. Everything loses its vitality as the ancients described.

    However, in Beijing, one particular custom makes the solar term come alive.

    "Beijing people have the traditional habit of growing daffodils at this time of the year, known as 'drying' daffodils," says folklore expert Gao Wei.

    "On the day of xiaoxue, the potted plant should be taken out and bathed in the open air. In the early years, it was difficult to cultivate flowers in winter. As such, flower farmers cultivated some small and highly ornamental flowers that grow in greenhouses. Daffodils later became a favorite."

    In northern China, around xiaoxue, farmers begin to prune the fruit trees, wrapping the trunks with straw-woven foil to prevent fruit trees from freezing, and storing cabbage for consumption in winter.

    |<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next   >>|

    Related Stories

    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    惠民福利中文字幕人妻无码乱精品| 88国产精品无码一区二区三区| 成人午夜福利免费专区无码| 最近2019中文字幕免费大全5| 精品国产毛片一区二区无码| 中文字幕无码乱人伦| 天堂亚洲国产中文在线| 日韩午夜福利无码专区a | 97无码免费人妻超| 亚洲一区二区三区AV无码| 日韩亚洲欧美中文高清| 中文无码喷潮在线播放| 99久久人妻无码精品系列| 亚洲AV无码一区二区三区性色 | 日本中文字幕在线2020 | 中文字幕国产在线| 最近免费中文字幕MV在线视频3| 免费VA在线观看无码| 日韩欧精品无码视频无删节| 中文字幕AV中文字无码亚| 亚洲中文无韩国r级电影| 日韩精品一区二三区中文 | 中文成人久久久久影院免费观看| 免费A级毛片无码无遮挡| 日韩经典精品无码一区| 无码AV一区二区三区无码| 国产精品无码无卡无需播放器| 精品人无码一区二区三区| 色窝窝无码一区二区三区色欲| 无码国内精品久久人妻| 亚洲AV无码乱码在线观看富二代 | 亚洲AV无码久久精品色欲| 亚洲人成人无码网www电影首页| 亚洲精品一级无码中文字幕| 中文字幕亚洲综合久久| 最近免费中文字幕大全免费版视频| 色婷婷综合久久久中文字幕 | 亚洲AV无码成人精品区大在线| 国产精品无码永久免费888| 中日精品无码一本二本三本| 亚洲精品无码鲁网中文电影|