Icy weather offers warming treats

It is also a good time for tonic food. Liu says that, in Chengdu, there is an old saying that on the day of Major Snow, people should eat black food. According to the five elements theory, a Chinese philosophy that used to describe interactions and relationships between things, wood, fire, earth, metal and water are believed to be the fundamental elements of everything in the universe between which interactions occur. "Winter belongs to water and its color is black," Liu adds. "Black food is the best food during Major Snow. It's recommended to take in more black sesame, black beans, black rice and shiitake mushrooms.

"Chinese cabbage is also a good choice. In northern China, people eat radishes on Minor Snow and cabbage on Major Snow. Cabbage is a vegetable native to China with a long history of cultivation (for about seven millennia), and the ancients believed that cabbage is the best among vegetables."

During Major Snow, tonic and keeping warm are essential. Another old saying goes: "Tonic in winter, you can fight tigers in the coming year".

The modern Chinese continue to cherish the ancient folk customs and, as such, the long winter nights come alive.