小雪是中国传统二十四节气（the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms）中的第二十个节气，英文表达为Minor Snow。

据《群芳谱》记载：“小雪气寒而将雪矣，地寒未甚而雪未大也。”实际上， “小雪”是指寒潮和强冷空气活动频数较高的节气，跟气象学上“降雪量”的多少并不完全相同。

Minor Snow refers to the time when it starts to snow, mostly in China's northern areas, and the temperature continues to drop.

“小雪”意味着中国北部大部分地区有初雪飘落，温度持续走低。

The light snow freezes at night, but melts quickly during the day.

雪花轻盈，晚间凝结，但白天迅速融化。

一起来看看小雪节气有哪些需要关注的小知识吧。

小雪已至，是时候拿出“珍藏”一年的帽子和围巾啦。现代人长时间低头看手机和电脑，颈椎部分普遍比较“娇弱”，在冷天里更是要多加呵护。

In China, the wind blows from the northeast frequently since the Minor Snow. Because it is not bitter yet, many people do not wear hats or scarves. In fact, according to an old Chinese saying, "the head is the place where all passages of the body gather". It is sensible to beware that one's head can't be frozen.

在中国，自小雪起，常常刮起东北风。因为此时天气并非极寒，许多人便没有戴帽子和围巾。事实上，中国有句古话：“头为诸阳之首（头是经脉汇集的地方）。”谨防头部受寒是明智的。

小雪期间，室内供暖开始了。暖气给人带来惬意享受的同时，也容易导致干燥上火。

Thus the air indoors is dry and most people might feel their nose and mouth are dry. Their inner heat energy can't get out. Symptoms appear, including dental ulcers or more pimples on a person's face. The way to solve this problem is to drink more hot soup, such as cabbage with bean curd soup, spinach with bean curd soup and mutton with radish soup.

由于室内空气干燥，大部分人可能会感到鼻腔和口腔都很干燥，内热无法排出。这样就会出现一些症状，包括口腔溃疡或脸上起疹子等。解决这些问题的办法是多喝热汤，比如白菜豆腐汤、菠菜豆腐汤和羊肉萝卜汤。

糍粑是流行于南方的小吃。寒冷的冬天，来一口又甜又糯的糍粑，绵软而温暖。

In some areas of south China, people have glutinous rice cakes in the early 10th lunar month, which is around Minor Snow. In ancient times, glutinous rice cake was a traditional festival offering to the bull god used by peasants.

中国南方一些地区，人们会在农历十月初（小雪前后）吃糍粑。在古代，糍粑是农民献给牛神的祭品。

“冬腊风腌，蓄以御冬。” 小雪过后，温度陡降，空气变干，正是制作腊肉的最佳时机。腊肉会在春节前腌制、风干完毕，之后人们就可以围炉享用美食了。

In the past, when storage conditions were poor, people created many ways to store their food. Preserved pork is one of them. Thus even in the bitter winter, the whole family could enjoy meat without going out. Some even say preserved pork tastes better than fresh meat.

在过去，存储条件有限，人们发明了多种保存食物的方式，腌制肉是其中的一种。这样一来即便在严寒的冬天，全家都可以足不出户吃上肉了。有些人甚至认为，腊肉尝起来比鲜肉更美味。

一直以来，江苏南京一带的居民都会采用不同的方式制作咸菜，以迎接小雪的到来。

Nanjing is known for its pickled vegetables. In the past, due to inconvenient transportation, vegetables sold in Nanjing were few and expensive. Thus people there made pickled vegetables for the winter.

南京的咸菜十分有名。在过去，由于交通不便，南京售卖的蔬菜量少且贵。因此当地人会做咸菜来度过冬天。

冬天吃辣有祛寒、促进消化的作用。寒冷的晚上，与亲朋好友围坐在一起涮火锅，更是一种热情的体验。不过，吃太辣的食物，对身体可不友好哦。

On cold days, people want to have some hot and spicy food to keep warm. Experts say that it is wise not to eat overly spicy food, since that will enhance inner heat. 

寒冷日子里，人们想吃一些辛辣的食物来保暖。专家认为，不宜食用太辣的食物，那样会加重内火。

文章来源：中国日报双语新闻