During Major Cold, as the cold current moves southward, the weather becomes bitterly 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.

大寒时节，由于寒潮向南移动，天气变得十分严寒。虽然现代气象观测显示，大寒时期，中国一些地区并不比小寒时寒冷。但在某些沿海地区，全年最低温度依然出现在大寒期间。

寒潮是指strong cold air（强冷空气），由亚洲大陆西部或西北部侵袭中国时的强降温天气过程，一般多发生在秋末、冬季、初春时节。人们通常用cold snap、cold wave、cold front、cold spell这些词来表达寒潮。不过除此之外，表达寒冷还可以用下面这些词汇：

大寒时节，各地也有不少的饮食习俗，你都知道多少呢？不如一起来瞅瞅~

北京人有大寒吃“消寒糕”的习俗。消寒糕是年糕的一种，一般由糯米、红枣、桂圆、核桃、白糖等材料制成，碳水丰富，食之可起到抗寒作用。

Sticky rice, the cake's major ingredient, contains more sugar than rice, which can make people feel warm all over their bodies. In Chinese, the word "rice cake" has the same pronunciation with the word "higher in a new year", which symbolizes good luck and continual promotion.

消寒糕的主要原料是糯米，其含糖量比大米高，可使人感到全身暖和。汉语中“年糕”和“年高”发音相同，寓意着吉祥如意、年年高升。

大寒时节经常与农历岁末相吻合。古时除夕夜，人们把芝麻秸放在地上，让孩子们来踩，谐音“踩岁（碎）”，有“岁岁平安”的寓意。

In some areas of China, people always fall over each other in eagerness to buy sesame straw during this period because of the old saying, "Rise joint by joint like sesame flowers on the stem." This saying is used to describe either ever-rising living standards or making steady progress in thought, studies or skills.

在中国的一些地区，大寒时人们经常争相去买芝麻秸，因为有句老话讲：“芝麻开花节节高。”这句话常被用来描述生活水平的不断上升或思想、学习和技能方面的稳步提升。

春卷包含大量春天的蔬菜，营养丰富，既可当菜，也可作主食。在安徽安庆一带，有大寒吃炸春卷的习俗。

People use a round, cooked, thin pancake to wrap stuffing 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.

人们用圆圆的熟的薄饼裹上馅料，卷成细卷，然后放入平底锅中油炸，直至外皮金黄并浮上来。春卷的馅料包括肉类或蔬菜类，有咸和甜两种口味。

俗话说：小寒大寒，冻成冰团。这意味着一年中最寒冷的时节已经到了，剩下的天气会越来越暖哦~