Nanjing: Eating Vegetable Rice
In ancient times, Nanjing people attached great importance to Minor Cold, but as times have changed, this custom has gradually faded. Today, people can only find faint traces of it in their daily lives.
During Minor Cold, old Nanjing residents would typically cook vegetable rice. The contents of this rice varied; some recipes involved stir-frying dwarf yellow cabbage with cured meat slices, sausage slices, or diced板鸭 (board duck), then adding some chopped ginger grains and glutinous rice to cook together, which was extremely fragrant, fresh, and delicious. Among these, dwarf yellow cabbage, sausage, and board duck are all famous local specialties of Nanjing, making it a truly authentic "Nanjing vegetable rice," even comparable to the Laba porridge.
During the Minor Cold season, it is also the busiest time for old Chinese medicine practitioners and pharmacies, as the herbal medicinal pastes (gao fang) prepared at the beginning of winter are usually nearly finished. At this time, some families will prepare another batch to eat until around the Spring Festival.
The daily diet of residents also tends to focus on warming foods, such as lamb and dog meat, with lamb soup being the most common. Some restaurants also offer Angelica and Ginger Lamb Soup. In recent years, some traditional winter lamb dishes have reappeared on the dining table, reviving Nanjing's winter food customs. As the saying goes, "Minor Cold and Great Cold, the cold is like a block of ice." Nanjing people have a set of region-specific physical exercises for the Minor Cold season, such as rope skipping, shuttlecock kicking, rolling iron hoops, "jī yóu zhā zhā" (squeezing against each other near a wall), and "dòu jī" (cockfighting, where one stands on one leg and tucks the other, then clashes with an opponent). If it snows, people are even more joyous, having snowball fights and building snowmen, which quickly warms the body and gets the blood flowing.
Guangdong: Eating Glutinous Rice
A Guangzhou tradition is to eat glutinous rice on the morning of Minor Cold. To prevent it from being too sticky, the ratio is usually 60% glutinous rice and 40% fragrant rice. The cured meat and sausages are chopped and stir-fried, along with peanuts, and then mixed into the rice to eat.
Guangdong people place great emphasis on diet therapy. As Minor Cold falls in the depths of winter, when the earth's energy is strong and the kidney's energy is weak, the diet should be adjusted to reduce sweet foods and increase bitter ones, to nourish the heart and support the lungs, and to regulate the kidneys. According to Chi Xiaoling, while the saying goes "nourish the body for a whole winter during the 'three nines'," it is crucial not to overdo the supplementation during Minor Cold. In terms of diet, one can eat more lamb, beef, sesame, walnuts, almonds, melon seeds, peanuts, pine nuts, and raisins. Medicinal cuisine can also be used for supplementation.
Medicinal Paste Supplementation
The "Huangdi Neijing" (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) states: "Nourish Yang in spring and summer, and nourish Yin in autumn and winter." In winter, all things are in a state of storage, and health preservation should follow this natural trend of conservation, nourishing the internal organs. Medicinal pastes (gao fang) are not only capable of preventing and treating diseases but also have the effect of nourishing the body and strengthening the constitution. It is no wonder they are popular with the public during the winter. By the time of Minor Cold, it is also the busiest period for taking medicinal pastes for supplementation, as those prepared at the beginning of winter are usually almost finished. At this time, some families will prepare another batch to eat until around the Spring Festival.
[NextPage]
Drawing the "Nine Nines" Calendar
The Minor Cold solar term originated in the Yellow River region. It is said that in the past, farming households in this area would use the "Nine Nines Cold-Dispelling Picture" (jiu jiu xiao han tu) to ward off the cold and promote health during Minor Cold.
The "Nine Nines Cold-Dispelling Picture" is a piece of calligraphy with the characters "亭前垂柳珍重待春凰" (Tíng qián chuí liú zhēn zhòng dài chūn huáng), all in traditional characters. Each of the nine characters has nine strokes, totaling eighty-one strokes. Starting from the Winter Solstice, one stroke is filled in each day in order. After every "nine" period (jiu), one character is completed. Only after all nine periods are completed and spring returns is the picture considered fully finished. The Minor Cold solar term falls right in the "three nines," the coldest period, so the folk custom of "drawing the picture to count the nines" is closely linked to the Minor Cold solar term. Counting the nines and practicing calligraphy not only helps dispel the cold but is also a fine way to pass the time and cultivate one's mood during the winter.