Literally:
the first person [ever] to eat a crab
Meaning:
someone who makes a discovery important to civilization, an innovator, he who dares wins
Today is the winter solstice , the shortest day of the year. In the traditional Chinese calendar this day is known as dongzhi, and is the most important winter festival.
The Nine by Nine Chart for Whiling Away Winter
The winter solstice marks the first day from which the eighty one days of winter are counted . Even with kang beds, winters up north have never been a barrel of laughs. To mark off the days on a chart must have been a comfort, and today the custom of drawing the Nine by Nine Chart for Whiling Away Winter (or Dispel Winter Diagram) still lingers on.
At its simplest it is eighty one circles or squares painted on paper, with one shape being marked off per day, starting on dongzhi. These charts became inventively ornate, with nine characters each with nine strokes used to mark off the days, or ink paintings of eighty one plum blossoms – first the buds are drawn, and one blossom is painted in for each day that passes. When the painting is finished, it is the day to celebrate the arrival of spring.
In Yunnan province, food made from sticky rice is eaten, such as sweet dumplings (tangyuan), sticky rice cake (ciba) , and eight treasures rice (babaofan) , all of which are rich and sweet giving the body energy to defend itself against the winter cold.
In the north of China they traditionally eat jiaozi, and there is a folk tale the upshot of which is that jiaozi look like ears, so if they eat jiaozi their ears will be protected from freezing off in the howling winter cold.
Picture source: netor.com
Sichuan-style mahjong is popular in throughout southern China. It is the simplest version of mahjong , so a good place to start for beginners.
Mahjong is like the card game rummy - you’re trying to make runs or three-of-a-kind. Here are the rules in detail:
to grasp the Buddha’s foot in an emergency to seek help at the last moment; 
Literally:
Meaning:
to make a frantic last-minute effort
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to eat closed-door soup to be left out in the cold;
Literally:
Meaning:
to be denied entrance
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