China folks have the custom of eating Laba porridge on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month every year. How did the name of the twelfth lunar month and the folk custom of eating Laba porridge come from? What does Laba porridge mean?

1. The origin of Laba porridge

Laba porridge originated from the ancient emperor Tian Zi of China who offered sacrifices to the god of agriculture at the end of the year, which was called Daraba of Tian Zi, while Daraba of Tian Zi originated from the first generation of Yan Di Shennong in China as the first wax sacrifice to tell God.

1. Shennong First Wax Festival

The country is people-oriented, and the people take food as the sky. Diet is the basic need of people's life, and food comes from the development of agriculture. The rise of agriculture in China began when the first generation of Emperor Yan Shennong invented farm tools and planted grains in the Stone Age. The book of changes says: "Shennong's work, wood as a coffin, wood as thunder, teaches people to repair grains." Thunder is a kind of agricultural tool, that is, a plow. Ray is a plow handle, and a shovel is a plow shovel. When you plow the field, you can harvest the grain. The so-called five grains, namely: rice, millet, millet, wheat and rice. In Mencius, there is a sentence by Teng Wengong: "Tree Art Grains", and Zhao Qi notes: "Grains are rice, millet, millet, wheat and glutinous rice." Zizania latifolia is the general term for beans. In the Year of the Stone, the first generation of Yandi Shennong, after the bumper harvest of grains, began to offer wax sacrifices to God at the end of December, and made a wish: "The soil will return to its house, the water will return to its valley, the insects will not work, and the vegetation will return to its ze." The meaning of wax sacrifice is the meaning of Qingfeng harvest, and prayer is to pray for God's blessing. Good weather, fertile land, no insects, no disasters and another good harvest in the coming year. This is a wax sacrifice. Waxy sound Zha (zhà), also called Cha (chà), is the name of the festival of sacrificing Saturnalia in China at the end of the year, which is called Saturnalia Festival every December in the lunar calendar. Wax also sounds like la, which is homophonic with wax. Therefore, wax figure is also called La Worship, and La Worship is another name for wax figure.

2. Dabala, Tian Zi

There are eight aspects of wax sacrifice, which are called eight waxes or eight waxes. The Book of Rites says: "Eight waxes are used to worship the four directions." Zheng Xuan's Note said: "There are eight kinds of wax: first, it is also; Teacher, second also; Agriculture, three also; Post list out of school, four also; Cat, tiger, five also; Party, six also; Water courage, seven also; Insects, eight also. " In the first year of Shennong's reign, the first generation of Emperor Yan created the foundation of China's founding the country through agriculture in ancient times, initiated a wax sacrifice to tell God, and formed the beginning of wax sacrifice at the end of the year in ancient China. Wax sacrifice was an important event in ancient China. Therefore, emperors or monarchs of past dynasties, as the king of a country, make wax sacrifices to pray for God every December of the lunar calendar, which is called the Great Wax Eight of the Emperor. The Book of Rites said: "The son of heaven is a big wax. Eosin is wax at first. Wax also, cable also. /kloc-in October/February, I collected all the things and looked for them. The sacrifice of wax is also added by the Lord and the priest, and it is also added to the sacrifice of God. Farmers, postal workers, animals, etc. , are extremely benevolent. Welcome the cat and feed it to the voles. Welcome the tiger and feed it. So welcome and sacrifice it. Sacrificial workshops and aqua, things also. Therefore, I wish:' the soil belongs to its house, the water belongs to its valley, the insects do nothing, and the vegetation belongs to its ze'. Wear plain clothes and sacrifice them. " In this paper, Yi is Shennong. Increasing means increasing, which means harvesting crops. Increase first, then teach the people to repair. Division, in charge of agriculture. Benevolence, repay kindness without ingratitude. Righteousness, credit must be repaid. Fang, dam. Used for storing water and blocking water. Water is a ditch, which is used to divert water and drain water. Back to the word. Pige, made of white deerskin. Plain clothes are made of plain cloth.

Eight Wax Sacrifice, or Eight Wax Sacrifice, is to worship the Eight Valley Stars. Eight stars are rich and frugal stars in the new year. Regarding the eight grains, the herbal medicine says "eight grains" and notes: "millet, millet, rice, sorghum, five grains, hemp, water chestnut and wheat." Xiang Fu notes: "Rice, millet, millet, barley, wheat, soybean, adzuki bean, millet and hemp." The word stereotyped writing is also a star name. "History of the Song Dynasty" Tian Dui said: "Eight valleys and eight stars, in Huagaixi, five cars north. Wu Mi said: The Lord will wait for the New Year, and the eight valleys will be rich and frugal. One meter, two millet, three barley, four wheat, five soybeans, six adzuki beans, seven millet and eight hemp. " Tian Wenzhi, a book of Jin Dynasty, said: "Five cars and five stars, its west eight star is called Bagu, and the main waiting year is Bagu." Judging from the above text, the word "eight" of knowing the son of heaven and wax eight is not taken casually, but has a specific meaning. That is, to worship the God of Eight Ceres.

3. The causes of Laba porridge

Laba porridge originated in ancient China. The content of Tiandi Dala Ba includes two aspects. One is to "collect all things and seek them." The second is to pray.

(1) About gathering everything. Ten thousand people, who talk a lot, don't really collect ten thousand kinds of goods, nor are they limited to eight kinds of fruits and vegetables. Ba Wa's word "eight" refers to eight aspects of worshipping the eight-grain star and the eight-agricultural god, not eight kinds of fruits and vegetables. Cable, twist, wax means cable. If you are a fan, you can offer it. That is, a variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains are mixed together, cooked into porridge, dedicated to the gods, and then eaten, called Laba porridge. Why is it cooked porridge instead of dry rice? Because wax sacrifice is for prayer, wax eight sacrifices and prayers are wax eight wishes, that is, Laba porridge. Laba porridge homophonic wax eight wishes. Then, why not write Waba pig as Waba pig and Laba porridge? Namely: Why does wax become wax? Because1at the end of February, all the fruits, vegetables and grains sacrificed to the gods were dry. Fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. What is harvested in one year will of course become dry in December, and dry things are called wax. Therefore, the laba porridge cooked with dried fruits and vegetables is called laba porridge. Eight here refers to worshipping Ba Shen, not eight kinds of fruits and vegetables. About a dry substance called wax. All the dry things belong to the wax man in Tianzi's family. Zhou Li Tianguan Laren said: "Pull Zhang Ren to do martial arts." Zheng Xuan's "Note" said: "Wax, everything is done." So dry matter is called wax. Wax sacrifice is to cook dried fruits and vegetables into porridge as a sacrifice. Therefore, the wax figure is also called La Worship. In other words, La Worship is also called La Worship, and Laba is also called Laba. The wax here means dry things, and it has not been associated with December. But La Worship was held in1February, and its significance is close to1February.

4. La Worship Day La Ri.

The festival of wax sacrifice is held in December of the lunar calendar every year. So, when is it held in December of the lunar calendar every year? Shuowen: "After the Winter Solstice, keep three, and La Worship is a hundred gods." In other words, La Worship is held from the winter of the lunar calendar to the third garrison day in the future. This day is called Lajie, or Lari for short. Since1February in the lunar calendar is La Worship month, the twelfth lunar month should be in1February in the lunar calendar. "Justice in Historical Records" says: "December is also the twelfth month." However, the winter solstice is not a fixed day in the China lunar calendar. Therefore, the third garrison day from winter to the future is not a fixed day, and sometimes it falls in the first month of the second year. This does not conform to the requirement of going to La Worship in December of the lunar calendar every year. What should we do? The best way is to fix the date of La Worship on a day in December of the lunar calendar every year. What day is today? Because La Worship of the son of heaven is called the Great Wax Eight of the son of heaven every year (eight stars dedicated to the Eight Saturnalia), Wax Eight is also called Laba. Then, the official confirmed that La Worship's annual date La Ri is the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. The Chronicle of Jingchu says: "The eighth day of December is the twelfth month." This day is a fixed day, always in December, and will not change, in line with the provisions of "December, La Ri also".

5. La Worship Moon-Twelfth Moon

Sacrificing gods with dry things is called La Worship, and the month in La Worship is called twelfth month. The word la here means something dry, not the name of the month. In Shuowen's era of "After the Winter Solstice, three garrisons were stationed and La Worship was full of gods", the days of La Worship sometimes ended in December of one year and sometimes in January of the following year. In other words, the twelfth lunar month in La Worship is not a fixed month. Sometimes December is the twelfth lunar month, and sometimes January is the twelfth lunar month. The twelfth lunar month here refers to the month in La Worship, not the name of the month. Later, the date of La Worship was set at the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Therefore, La Worship month is fixed in1February every year. In this case, the twelfth lunar month in La Worship is fixed in December of the lunar calendar every year. Although the twelfth lunar month here is fixed in December of the lunar calendar every year, it still means La Worship month, not the name of the month. December Festival is the name of the ancient December Festival in China, called La Worship.

6. Determination of the name of the twelfth lunar month

At the end of each year, the emperors of ancient China offered sacrifices to Saturnalia. After Qin Shihuang unified China, Qin Shihuang, as the son of heaven, also made La Worship with dry things at the end of each year. La Worship is held in December of the lunar calendar every year. It is called wax and dry things. Therefore, Qin Shihuang officially named December in La Worship as the twelfth lunar month, which was confirmed. Namely: December is called the twelfth month. The twelfth lunar month here is the name of the month, and the meaning of the La Worship moon is not clear, let alone the meaning of doing things.

7. The origin of Laba porridge

Because in ancient China, the Emperor of Heaven and the monarch of the country used dry things to make La Worship sacrifice to the gods every December. La Worship includes two aspects: one is sacrifice; The second is prayer. Sacrifice is to worship the Eight Valley Stars, offering sacrifices with dry things to express the meaning of Qingfeng harvest. Dry matter is called wax, and Baba is the god of eight stars, so it is called Laba. In terms of time, La Worship is held on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month every year. The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is also called Laba. Prayer is an important aspect of La Worship, that is, praying for good weather in the coming year to ensure a bumper agricultural harvest. Every year, on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, dry things are sacrificed to the eight-grain star god and prayed, which is called Laba Wish or Wax Eight Wish, which is homophonic with porridge. So on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, dried fruits and vegetables are mixed together, cooked into porridge, and offered to the god of agriculture to express the meaning of Qingfeng harvest and pray. Laba porridge is used to homophone the meaning of Laba porridge, which is the origin of Laba porridge. It is to cook porridge with dry things, sacrifice to the god of agriculture, pray and bless, and celebrate the harvest.

2. Wrong statement about the origin of Laba porridge

Regarding the origin of Laba porridge, there is a misunderstanding in the society that Laba porridge originated on the eighth day of December in the summer calendar, which is the day when Sakyamuni attained enlightenment. Monks in Buddhist temples bring fragrant valleys, fruits and vegetables to cook porridge for the Buddha, which is called Laba porridge, meaning a bumper harvest in the Qing Dynasty. Connect the origin of Laba porridge with Sakyamuni's enlightenment. This connection is wrong. Monks in the temple can offer Laba porridge to the Buddha on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, but it does not mean that Laba porridge originated from the enlightenment of Sakyamuni on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. First of all, in terms of time, December is called the twelfth lunar month, which began in the Qin Shihuang period in China. Before that, the twelfth lunar month was not necessarily December, that is, December was not called the twelfth lunar month. Sakyamuni attained the Tao in the Spring and Autumn Period over 550 BC, when the twelfth lunar month was not called wax. How can the porridge cooked on the eighth day of December be called Laba porridge? What does the word la mean? What's more, ancient India used the Indian calendar, not the summer calendar. The enlightenment day of Sakyamuni in the Indian calendar is not a fixed day in the summer calendar. How can Sakyamuni's enlightenment day be set on the eighth day of December in the summer calendar? In addition, what is the connection between Sakyamuni's enlightenment and celebrating the harvest? So it is wrong to say that the origin of Laba porridge began with Sakyamuni's enlightenment. Wu's Dream said, "On the eighth day of December, Dasha Temple was named Laba, and monks set five-flavor porridge for the Buddha, named Laba porridge." This is just that the monks in the temple also set Laba porridge for the Buddha, not that Laba porridge originated from Sakyamuni. Laba porridge originated from the ancient Tianzi Laba porridge in China, that is, the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, where dry things were used to worship the god of agriculture and pray for blessings.