「大寒」是二十四節氣中的最後一個節氣，此時寒潮南下頻繁，是中國大部地區一年中的寒冷時期。
During Great Cold, as the cold current moves southward, the weather is very cold. Although modern meteorological observation shows that in some regions of China the weather during Great Cold is not colder than Great Cold, the lowest temperatures of the whole year still occur in the Great Cold period in some coastal areas.
吃「消寒糕」
「消寒糕」是年糕的一種，「年糕」有「年高」之意，帶著吉祥如意、年年平安、步步高升的好彩頭。在老北京的習俗中，大寒這天一家人分吃年糕，既帶著吉祥味，也能驅散身上寒意，所以稱為「消寒糕」。During Great Cold, People in Beijing have a habit of eating "dispelling cold cake", a kind of rice cake. In Chinese the word "rice cake" has the same pronunciation with the word "higher in a new year", which symbolizes good luck and continual promotion.
買芝麻秸
舊時，大寒時節的街上，還常有人爭相購買芝麻秸，因為「芝麻開花節節高」。除夕夜，人們將芝麻秸灑在行走之外的路上，供孩童踩碎，諧音吉祥意「踩歲」，同時以「碎」、「歲」諧音寓意「歲歲平安」，求得新年好口彩。Great Cold always coincides with the end of the year in the lunar calendar. In some areas of China, people always fall over each other in eagerness to buy sesame straw during this period because of the old saying, "Rise joint by joint like sesame flowers on the stem." This saying is used to describe either ever-rising living standards or making steady progress in thought, studies or skills.炸春卷
In Anqing of Anhui province, people traditionally eat fried spring rolls duringGreat Cold. The stuffing inside the spring roll contains meat or vegetables and the flavor can be salty or sweet.南京居民有大寒喝雞湯的習俗，選用老母雞，配以人參、枸杞和木耳燉煮，寒冷的天氣喝一碗熱騰騰的雞湯，真是享受。Residents in Nanjing of Jiangsu province like to drink stewed soup during GreatCold. They always stew the aged hen soup with ginseng, matrimony vine and black fungus.不少地方，人們會在大寒這天出門參加滑雪、滑冰、乘雪橇等冬季運動，為寒冷的季節增加一絲活潑和歡樂。In various regions of China, Great Cold is the perfect time for winter sports such as skiing, ice skating and sledding.