Xiaoxue (小雪), Minor Snow, is the 20th of China’s 24 solar terms. In 2026 it begins when the Sun reaches ecliptic longitude 240°, at 3:23 PM China Standard Time on Sunday, 22 November 2026 (07:23 UTC; 11:23 PM Pacific Time on Saturday, 21 November), and it runs about 15 days, until Daxue (Major Snow) on 7 December.
Key takeaways
- Xiaoxue 2026 begins at 3:23 PM China Standard Time on 22 November 2026; the Hong Kong Observatory’s 2026 table gives the same minute.
- The 24 solar terms split the Sun’s yearly path into 15° steps, counted from the March equinox (Hong Kong Observatory).
- Xiaoxue’s three five-day pentads: rainbows hide, sky and earth part, and winter closes in.
- Hakka families in Guangdong and Fujian make ciba (glutinous rice cakes), and Nanjing households start pickling vegetables (China Daily).
- In a 30-day study of 61 undergraduates, the most irregular sleepers’ melatonin onset averaged 12:08 AM, against 9:32 PM for the most regular (Scientific Reports, 2017).
When is Xiaoxue 2026?
Xiaoxue 2026 falls on Sunday, 22 November 2026, at 3:23 PM China Standard Time (UTC+8). In California the same instant is 11:23 PM Pacific Standard Time on Saturday, 21 November, so the date is a day earlier in the Americas.
Our ephemeris and the Hong Kong Observatory’s 2026 almanac (Light Snow, 15:23 Hong Kong Time) agree to the minute. The term runs until Daxue (Major Snow, 255°) on 7 December 2026, China time, and follows Lidong, the Chinese Start of Winter.
How do the 24 solar terms divide the year?
The 24 solar terms (jieqi) are the moments when the Sun reaches 24 fixed points on the ecliptic, spaced 15° apart, so each term lasts about 15 days. The Hong Kong Observatory sets the March equinox at 0°, and the terms alternate between 12 major and 12 minor terms; its 2026 table lists Light Snow among the 12 major terms.
| Term | Sun’s longitude | 2026 date (China time) |
|---|---|---|
| Lidong, Start of Winter | 225° | 7 November |
| Xiaoxue, Minor Snow | 240° | 22 November |
| Daxue, Major Snow | 255° | 7 December |
| Dongzhi, Winter Solstice | 270° | 22 December |
The names reflect, to some extent, the climate of central China in ancient times, the Observatory explains. UNESCO inscribed the Twenty-Four Solar Terms as intangible cultural heritage in 2016, describing a system born in the Yellow River region that farmers still use.
What are the three pentads of Minor Snow?
Each solar term has three pentads (候, hou) of about five days; Xiaoxue’s describe the sky closing for winter. China Daily points to the Yuan dynasty scholar Wu Cheng, whose A Collective Interpretation of the Seventy-two Phenological Terms set out each term’s three pentads.
| Pentad | Chinese | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| First five days | 虹藏不见 | Rainbows hide and are no longer seen |
| Second five days | 天气上升，地气下降 | The qi of the sky rises; the qi of the earth sinks |
| Last five days | 闭塞而成冬 | Heaven and earth close off, and winter takes hold |
Central China Normal University offers a modern reading: as temperatures drop, most of the water vapor in the air condenses, so rainbows are rare; the second pentad matches a temperature inversion; and the third describes snow closing roads as people settle indoors.
How do people mark Xiaoxue in China?
Xiaoxue is a season of preparing food for winter and the Spring Festival, and the customs change from region to region.
- Preserved pork (larou). China Daily and the Shanghai government’s English portal call the cold, dry air after Minor Snow the moment to start preserved pork for the Spring Festival. Timing varies: Nanjing, Jiangsu province, starts pickling vegetables on Xiaoxue and curing meat on Daxue.
- Pickling vegetables. In Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, potherb mustard is hung on bamboo poles and rooftops to dry before pickling.
- Ciba. Many regions of southern China still eat ciba, steamed and pounded glutinous rice. For the Hakka of Guangdong and Fujian, the word links to rolling: the dough is rolled many times and finished with sesame and peanut crumbs.
- Other regions. The Tujia people of Guizhou province hold a pork feast for neighbors, and the Uygur White Snow Festival in Xinjiang celebrates the first snowfall.
In northern China, with farm work over, people curled up in bed like a cat for the winter, Liu Yida, a writer with the Beijing Folk Literature and Art Association, told China Daily.
What does Minor Snow mean for your body clock?
Shorter days mean less daylight, and light and dark have the biggest influence on circadian rhythms (US National Institute of General Medical Sciences).
On 22 November 2026 Beijing gets about 9 hours 47 minutes of daylight by our computation, against about 15 hours at the June solstice; Guangzhou keeps about 10 hours 55 minutes. How the season’s traditions compare with evidence:
| Tradition says | Science says | Grade | On My BodyClock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rest more once farm work stops | 5 adults camping by natural light in Colorado near the winter solstice slept about 2.3 hours longer than at home (Current Biology, 2017) | plausible | Sleep from 10 PM to 6:30 AM |
| Get outdoors and get plenty of sunlight | Among 32 day workers in Kiruna, Sweden, more morning daylight was linked with earlier mid-sleep (Clocks & Sleep, 2018) | plausible | Walks after sunrise and at midday |
| Tend daily living (qiju) and get enough sleep | The most irregular sleepers’ melatonin onset averaged 12:08 AM, against 9:32 PM for the most regular (Scientific Reports, 2017) | plausible | Same wake time every day |
| Preserve pork and make ciba for the feasts | A food and harvest custom, not a health claim | cultural | A shared kitchen hour with family |
Caveats: the camping study had five people (cold nights in the tent may also have lengthened sleep), the Kiruna study was observational and far north of China, and the regularity study was observational, followed students and measured melatonin only in the 12 most and 12 least regular sleepers. None of it tests the theory of qi, only whether the timing advice matches the light-dark cycle. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute advises the same bed and wake times every day, within about an hour on weekends. More in how to fix your sleep schedule, sleeping more in winter and irregular sleep.
Where does Owaves fit in this lineage?
Owaves sits in a long line of tools that tie the day to the Sun. The jieqi fixed the farming year to the Sun’s longitude; clocks later set the working day; and science found the clock inside the body, honored by the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Owaves, founded in Encinitas, California, in 2013 (when Owaves launched), brings these together on My BodyClock, a 24-hour circle where sleep, meals, movement and work sit beside sunrise and sunset. For an Ayurvedic view of the same weeks, see Hemanta ritu, early winter.
Your day on My BodyClock
The day above on My BodyClock is a Minor Snow day built on the evidence. Wake-up is 6:30 AM, as on any other day, with a walk in morning daylight and a warm breakfast. A midday walk catches the strongest light of a short day. After work comes the season’s custom, an hour making ciba with family, then dinner at 6 PM. Screens go off at 8:45 PM, and sleep starts at 10 PM.
Build your own winter plan in Owaves: My BodyClock, the World’s First Wellness Planner, Powered by Your Body Clock. Take the Body Clock Type quiz, download Owaves on the App Store, or join the Android waitlist.
FAQ
When is Xiaoxue in 2026?
Xiaoxue 2026 begins at 3:23 PM China Standard Time on Sunday, 22 November 2026, when the Sun reaches 240°. That is 11:23 PM Pacific Standard Time on Saturday, 21 November.
Does it snow during Minor Snow?
Mostly in the north. The Shanghai government’s English portal says most places along the lower and middle Yellow River see their first snow in this term, light snow that freezes at night and melts by day.
Why do people eat ciba during Xiaoxue?
Many regions of southern China keep ciba as a Minor Snow food. China Daily describes it as an old farmers’ festival offering; for the Hakka of Guangdong and Fujian the name is tied to rolling the dough.
What is the difference between Xiaoxue and Daxue?
Xiaoxue (Minor Snow) begins at 240° of solar longitude and Daxue (Major Snow) at 255°, about 15 days later: 22 November and 7 December 2026, China time.
Sources
- UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Twenty-Four Solar Terms (inscribed 2016). https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/the-twenty-four-solar-terms-knowledge-in-china-of-time-and-practices-developed-through-observation-of-the-sun-s-annual-motion-00647
- Hong Kong Observatory. The 24 Solar Terms. https://www.hko.gov.hk/en/gts/time/24solarterms.htm
- Hong Kong Observatory. 24 Solar Terms, 2026 (Almanac 2026). https://my.weather.gov.hk/en/gts/astron2026/files/2026SolarTerms24.pdf
- Zhang Lei. Precipitating the big chill. China Daily (22 November 2022), pages 1–5. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202211/22/WS637c14a4a31049175432b140.html
- China Daily. 24 Solar Terms: 7 things you may not know about Minor Snow, page 5 (21 November 2023). https://language.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202311/21/WS655c695ca31090682a5ef53a_5.html
- Shanghai Municipal People’s Government. Things you may not know about Minor Snow (26 November 2024). https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-LearnChinese/20241126/fa8bf99a7671472ebaa3d2962374df5f.html
- Central China Normal University. How Much Do You Know Minor Snow? (November 2022). https://xgb.ccnu.edu.cn/en/info/1013/4210.htm
- Stothard ER et al. Circadian Entrainment to the Natural Light-Dark Cycle across Seasons and the Weekend. Current Biology (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.12.041
- Lowden A et al. Delayed Sleep in Winter Related to Natural Daylight Exposure among Arctic Day Workers. Clocks & Sleep (2018). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7509675/
- Phillips AJK et al. Irregular sleep/wake patterns are associated with poorer academic performance and delayed circadian and sleep/wake timing. Scientific Reports (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03171-4
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Healthy Sleep Habits. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation/healthy-sleep-habits
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Circadian Rhythms fact sheet. https://www.nigms.nih.gov/education/fact-sheets/Pages/circadian-rhythms.aspx
- Nobel Prize. Physiology or Medicine 2017, press release (2 October 2017). https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2017/press-release/
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