The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms (节气). It starts from the Beginning of Spring and ends with the Greater Cold, moving in cycles. It is still useful today to guide people’s lives through special foods, cultural ceremonies and even healthy living tips.

Grain Buds (小满) is the 8th solar term of a year. It means that the seeds (种子) from the grain are becoming full. During the Grain Buds, summer harvest is about to begin. A saying about rain during this time mentions, “A heavy rainfall makes the river full.” Because of the great increase in rainfall, rivers are full of water. This is a good time to enjoy fish. It is also the harvest season for fishermen.

Frost’s Descent (霜降), the 18th solar term of the year, is the last solar term of autumn, during which time the weather becomes much colder than before and frost begins to appear. The apple is one kind of the recommended (推荐的) fruit during Frost’s Descent. There are many sayings about apples’ benefits (益处) in China, such as “Eat an apple after meals, even old men can be as strong as young men.”

Minor Cold (小寒) is the 23rd one. For most areas of China, it marks the start of the coldest days of the year and people always start preparing for the New Year. According to traditional Chinese medicine thoughts, people need to eat food that has more yang energy to prevent cold from harming their bodies. Another important traditional food for Minor Cold is Laba porridge (腊八粥).

There are five children talking about the seasons.

Tony: I like winter because I live in Israel. In winter it’s rather warm and sometimes it gets even close to 30℃, but never as hot and wet as in summer.

Bill: Summer is the best, by far. I like the heat, the beach and the sunshine. I spend lots of time outdoors in summer. Winter is the worst, I think, as there is nothing good but cold.

Rose: Any season is okay but winter. I hate cold; I hate snow; and I really hate having to wear a coat. In winter everything is white and gray. I miss the green.

Emma: In spring, temperatures are nice. I’m excited to fish because winter is gone. I also like summer because I can go swimming in my big pool.

Nick: Summer is too hot and winter is too cold. Spring is okay but we get some storms. So autumn is my favorite season. It has warm days and cool nights. The leaves are turning to very beautiful colours.

There are four seasons in a year. Spring comes first (第一). Summer is the second (第二). Then it’s autumn. Winter is the last season in a year. In China, the weather is not the same in winter. In Beijing, it’s very cold. It often snows. People can play with snow and they must put on coats. But in Hainan, it’s not cold. It’s very warm. People there can go swimming in the sea.