What are the customs of Xiaoxue solar term? Why do we make bacon during Xiaoxue solar term?

The Minor Snow solar term is the 20th solar term of the traditional 24 solar terms, and it is the winter solar term. After this day, the temperature in most parts of the country gradually drops below zero. Many places, especially rural areas, have traditional customs and habits. The most common one is cured meat. Let's learn about it together.

What are the customs of Xiaoxue solar term?

Eat glutinous rice cake

During the Lesser Snow solar term, some places in the south have the custom of eating glutinous rice cakes on the "October Morning". Ciba is a delicious food made from steamed and mashed glutinous rice.

The earliest food used to worship the God of Ox is also a traditional delicacy in the southern region. There is a saying that goes "burn glutinous rice cakes in the tenth month". In some places, glutinous rice cakes are round and of different sizes, symbolizing harvest, celebration and reunion; in some places, they are called "nian gao", which also means good luck, "nian gao, nian gao, longevity every year".

Making preserved meat delicacies

There is a folk custom of "curing food in winter to keep out the cold". After the Minor Snow Festival, farmers start to make sausages and curd meat, and store them in the traditional way, just in time to enjoy the delicious food during the Spring Festival. Cured meat is especially popular in southern cities.

Shaved Soup

Paotang means that pigs are slaughtered during the Spring Festival. On the day of slaughtering pigs, the host will invite relatives, friends and neighbors to eat a carefully prepared meal of freshly slaughtered pork. Paotang is very suitable for winter health preservation. Common Paotang includes Maoxuewang, which adds a passionate atmosphere to the winter.

Why do we make bacon during the Xiaoxue solar term?

When the weather is hot, bacon and pickles tend to go bad and stink. After the Xiaoxue solar term, the temperature is basically in a state of plummeting and is unlikely to rise again. At that time, when these things were done, it was just when the Lunar New Year was approaching. They could be used as New Year goods and shared with family members during reunions, and slowly became a custom. There is a custom of pickling bacon in Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and other regions.

The traditional custom of processing and making bacon can be traced back to a long time ago, and it is a very common phenomenon. Every year in the winter and twelfth month of the lunar calendar, that is, before the "Minor Snow" to the "Start of Spring", every household slaughters pigs and sheep. In addition to leaving enough fresh meat for the New Year, the rest must be added with a certain proportion of pepper, fennel, star anise, cinnamon, cloves and other spices. There are two ways to make bacon: one is pickling, and the other is smoking.

What to eat during Xiaoxue solar term

It is suitable to eat bitter melon, corn, buckwheat, carrots and other lipid-lowering foods. In this season, you should eat warm foods and foods that are good for the kidneys. Warm nourishing foods include mutton, beef, chicken, dog meat, deer antlers, etc.; kidney-tonifying foods include cashews, Euryale ferox, yam porridge, chestnut stew, ginkgo stew chicken, bone soup, walnuts, etc. In addition, eat more black foods, such as black fungus, black sesame, black beans, etc.