Blog entry

Today is  惊蛰(Jingzhe) the third solar term in the Chinese calendar. It is called “Awakening of Insects” because the warming temperature results in spring thunder which is supposed to awaken animals and insects which have been hibernating for winter. This is a time for spring plowing and the beginning of the agricultural work for the year. There are also folk customs of eating pears, beating of drums to emulate the thunder god and offering sacrifice to the white tiger.

Today is  立春! The first solar term of a new year signaling the beginning of the spring season.

More info about the festival: https://www.chinatravel.com/facts/lichun.htm

Traditional foods for this festival include radish, spring pancake and spring roll.

小寒 (Xiaohan or Minor Cold) which falls on 5 January in 2018 is the second last of the twenty four solar terms under the traditional Chinese calendar. It is a time for eating warming foods like mutton hotpot, exercising/strengthening one's body and starting preparations for the upcoming Spring Festival such as writing spring couplets and buying New Year decorations. Some traditional regional foods eaten during this period include cabbage in Tianjin, vegetable rice in Nanjing and glutinous rice in Guangdong.

大 雪 (daxue) meaning "Major Snow" is the 21st solar term under the traditional Chinese lunar calendar and the third winter solar term. The weather turns colder and there is a greater possibility of snow, especially heavy snows.

I have copied out Tang dynasty poet 白居易 Bai Juyi's 《夜雪》(Night Snow) with a glass pen and black ink with blue shimmer (the shimmer is hard to photograph).

For those curious, a English translation of the poem is here.