Winter · 300° solar longitude
Major Cold 大寒
dà hán
Dates (GMT+8)
- 2026
- 2027
Solar terms are astronomical, not lunar, so the date shifts by at most a day between years.
What it marks
The coldest term, and the last of the twenty-four. The year ends here and begins again at 立春 — the calendar closes its circle.
Traditionally favours
- preparation
- clearing debts
- cleaning
- readying for the new year
Traditionally the settling-up window: finish the old year's business before the new one starts.
These are the tradition’s tendencies, not guarantees — and a solar term describes a stretch of weeks, so for a specific day check today’s almanac, which reads the day’s own 宜 and 忌.