1 . The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms (节气). The year starts from Beginning of Spring and ends with Greater Cold, moving in cycles. The solar term culture 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 the year. It means that the seeds (种子) from the grain are becoming full. During Grain Buds, the summer harvest is about to begin. A saying about rain during this time mentions, “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 a harvest season for fishermen.

Frost’s Descent (霜降), the 18th solar term of the year, is the last solar term of autumn. The weather becomes much colder than before and frost begins. The apple is one kind of recommended 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 Chinese 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).

3 . A newly released TV drama has won viewers’ hearts, with many saying it’s quite “soul-healing” in this time full of anxiety and competition. It has not only improved the local tourism, but also presented the charm of some intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) items in Dali. Let’s take a look at a few.

Jianchuan wood carving

Jianchuan wood carving has a history of more than 1,000 years. It was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2011. The carvings usually include pictures like flowers, plants and so on, which are widely used in their architecture as well as arts and crafts for decoration. The TV show also points that the traditional craft of wood carving faces challenges. The show discusses how machines are taking place of handwork, because they are more effective and less costly.

Tie-dyeing

Tie-dyeing is a traditional staining(着色)technique among the folks. The tie-dyeing technique of the Bai ethnic (民族的) group had grown in popularity as early as in the Tang dynasty, and it was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006. Now the tie-dyeing has mixed modern artistic elements, producing more products such as clothing, bags and tissue boxes.

Three-course tea

Three-course tea is a tea serving tradition of the Bai ethnic group. It was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2014. It has been an important tradition during special events such as weddings and festivals. What’s more, people usually drink this kind of tea during special occasions.

Tea is commonly considered native to Southern China. However, in a garden in Geling village in Metog county in the Tibet autonomous region, the morning air is filled with the sweet aroma of     1     (fresh) picked tea.

Tsering Yangdron, a 25-year-old Monba, one of the ethnic groups     2     live in this region, skillfully makes her way through the garden, carefully picking tender tea leaves and tossing them into a bamboo basket tied to her waist. Tea picking     3     (become) a habit for her over the past five years. After she is done, Tsering Yangdron goes back home, where she also runs a homestay. “We have come up with       4     dish of fresh tea buds fried with eggs,” she said. A kilogram of fresh tea buds       5     (sell) for 300 yuan. Once     6     (dry) and processed to make green tea, their value increases significantly.

Geling was once inaccessible as a result of the dense forests,     7     the opening of the Metog highway in 2013 significantly improved connectivity and created opportunities for economic growth. Prior to Huang Jiabin’s appointment     8     the village’s Party secretary, the tea plantation in Geling was a neglected piece of land.

“    9     (realize) the valley was suitable for growing tea, since 2018, we have improved the management of the tea plantation, introduced advanced planting techniques and provided training for     10     (village),” Huang said.

Most of the Christmas traditions in Greece are     1     (slight) different from the West. Children travel from house to house on Christmas Eve singing carols (颂歌) and offering their good wishes. In return, they will receive sweets, coins, small gifts and other things of appreciation.

In major cities and towns of Greece, decorations     2     (make) with brilliant lights hung across the streets. Shops are decorated with all the usual Christmas     3     (decoration). A number of rituals (仪式) are connected with the     4     (celebrate) of the festival.

During the day, the mother of a family sprinkles (撒) some holy water in each room     5     (scare) bad spirits away. The bad spirits are supposed to do bad things like putting out fires and making milk go off. Besides,     6     time to time priests (牧师) go to the houses sprinkling holy water around so that bad spirits dare not to come any     7     (long).

In most Greek homes, an evergreen tree is decorated with a star placed on top.     8     is known that the main Christmas meal is roasted lamb and pork along with salads and vegetables. In addition, people enjoy     9     (they) by eating Christmas desserts like Melomakarona, egg-shaped biscuits     10     are made from flour, olive oil and honey.

7 . Qing ming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, is a traditional festival where Chinese pay respects to their ancestors and the dead. People in different regions of the country consume different foods on the day according to local customs. From green rice balls and omelets (煎蛋饼) to fried dough twists and pancakes, here are some traditional foods people eat on the special day.

Qingtuan, or green rice balls, are widely consumed in China’s Jiangnan area — the region south of the Yangtze River — around Qingming Festival. The seasonal delicious food is usually made from glutinous rice (糯米) mixed with pounded mugwort — an eatable wild herb thought to prevent toxic insect bites.

In both northern and southern China, it is an age-old tradition to eat sanzi, or fried dough twists, on Tomb-Sweeping Day. However, the sanzi in North and South China are different from each other in terms of size and material. Northern people prefer larger ones made from wheat, while people in the South enjoy smaller ones made from rice.

Thin pancakes are a popular food for people in Xiamen in Southeast China’s Fujian province on Tomb-Sweeping Day. To make it tastier, they usually add dried seaweed, omelet, vegetables and chili sauce to the pancakes.

In Qingdao in East China’s Shandong province, people eat spring onion and omelet on the day. They believe the special combination makes eyes brighter. In ancient times, pupils often sent eggs to their teachers to show respect on the day.

In many places in Southeast China’s Fujian province, people thought eating steamed rice with leaf mustard (芥菜) on Tomb-Sweeping Day could help prevent scabies and other skin diseases for the whole year.

The steamed bun is named after Jie Zitui, a famous hermit of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC). People in Shanxi province have a tradition of eating the bun on Tomb-Sweeping Day. Colorful dough animals and flowers are frequent decorations, while eggs and jujubes (红枣) are added inside to increase sweetness.