From December 8 to January 17, according to the Turkmen traditional calendar, the major chille period is underway — the harshest stretch of winter. As noted in the “Turkmenistan” newspaper, there is a folk saying: “Winter has forty faces, and none of them are easy.” For this reason, during the major chille, ancestors urged people to be vigilant, as these forty days of cold could deprive herders of livestock and farmers of crops.

During frigid nights, when temperatures drop to –10…–15 °C, experienced shepherds let their animals sleep on a 25–30 cm layer of compacted manure, which helps retain warmth. In the morning, they feed the livestock with stored dry fodder and release them to pasture only after the sun softens the frozen grass.

Snowfall during chille has traditionally been considered a blessing. The elders used to say, “Snow of chille is the blood of the earth,” emphasizing that winter moisture nourishes the soil. If the season brings snow and rain, a rich spring and summer harvest is expected.

Although Earth is about five million kilometers closer to the Sun in winter, the sunlight hits at a slanted angle and days are short, so the ground does not warm up sufficiently.

Some years, the major chille arrives mild and dry. In such winters, people used to say: “Winter has slipped toward its end.”