大雪节气在每年的12月7日或8日。"小雪封地,大雪封河"形象地说明了大雪时天气之冷,雪量之大。"大雪"表明这段时间降雪的天数、降雪量都比小雪节气时增多,北方地面渐渐有了积雪。
The day of Great Snow falls on the seventh or the eighth day of December in each year. There is a vivid description about the day, which goes like this "Slight Snow freezes the land, while Great Snow freezes the rivers." It depicts the extremely cold weather with heavy snow. "大雪dàxuě(Great Snow)" means that during this period, there are more snowy days and snowfalls than in the days during Slight Snow, and some parts in the northern China can see snow accumulated on the ground.
冬天下雪对农民来说非常重要,"大雪到来大雪飘,兆示来年年景好",雪中所含的氮化合物比雨水多4倍,积雪融化渗入土中,能增加土壤中的氮素,易被农作物吸收利用。另外雪水温度低,能冻死地表层中越冬的害虫,所以说"瑞雪兆丰年"。
Snow in winter is very important to farmers, as is shown in the saying "the presence of flakes of snow, the promise of a good coming year". The nitrogen compounds in the snow are four times more than those in the rain. When the snow melts, it will increase the nitrogen in the soil, which can benefit crops a lot. In addition, the snow water is cold enough to kill the pests hibernated in the surface of the soil. That's why we say, "A timely heavy snow promises a good harvest."
在冬季,古人讲究早睡晚起,早睡是为了保持充沛的精力,晚起是让人们不要在天还没亮的时候就急匆匆起床,尤其是不要在严寒的清晨,太阳还没出来时就出门。当然适当晚起,绝不是提倡早晨睡懒觉。
In winter, ancient people prefer going to bed early and getting up late. Going to bed early is to keep up full energy, and getting up late means staying on bed until daybreak, avoiding going out before sunrise on cold winter mornings. Of course, it must be made clear that getting up at an appropriate late time is by no means to encourage sleeping late.