The custom of drinking Laha congee on Laha Festival comes from Buddhism. On the eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, which is the day when Buddha Shakyamuni became a Buddha, ancient Indians ate mixed congee as a memorial in order not to forget the suffering of the Buddha before he became a Buddha, and in order to commemorate his enlightenment on the eighth day of the twelfth month, which is the day he became a Buddha.

Since the introduction of Buddhism to China, all the monasteries made congee with fragrant grains and fruits to give to the disciples and good men and women. In the Song Dynasty, the custom of making and drinking congee on the day of Laha was gradually formed and continues to this day.

Buddhist sayings

The first eight days of Lunar New Year to eat "Lapa congee", by Chinese Buddhists to commemorate the completion of Shakyamuni Buddha and the formation of the custom. The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, whose real name was Chodamo Siddhartha, was the son of King Jinyi of the Kingdom of Kaviravai in the northern part of India (now in Nepal). When he was young, he saw that all beings suffered from the pains of old age, sickness, and death, and in order to seek the true meaning of life and liberation from birth and death, he gave up his princely life and left his family for monasticism. He practiced asceticism for six years in the snowy mountains, often eating one wheat and one hemp a day.

Then he realized that austerity was not the way to liberation, so he gave up austerity and came down from the mountain. At this time, a shepherdess saw his weakness, so she boiled millets (milk and grain **** boiled to make) to feed him. Shakyamuni's strength was restored, and he then meditated under the Bodhi tree for seven days, and on the eighth day of the first month of the Lunar New Year, he was enlightened by seeing a star at night.

Since the introduction of Buddhism to China, monasteries have made congee with fragrant grains and fruits to give to their disciples and devotees. On this day, each monastery held a puja, following the example of the shepherdess who offered milk and rice before the Buddha became a Taoist monk, and made congee with fragrant grains and fruits to offer to the Buddha, which was called Laha congee. There are also monasteries before the eighth day of the eighth month of the Lunar New Year by the monks holding a bowl, along the streets, will collect rice, chestnuts, jujube, nuts, etc. cooked into the Laha congee distributed to the poor. It is believed that eating can be blessed by Buddha, so the poor people call it "Buddha porridge".

Generally, the monastery's Buddha porridge is both delicious and a lot to meet the needs of good men and women who come to the temple to participate in the commemorative ceremony. Some believers specifically run "congee" to come, that the congee for the Buddha on the 8th day of the auspicious, not only for their own consumption, but also to bring home for the enjoyment of family members. Year after year, the temple to do Laha porridge tradition has been widely spread to the people.