1 sacrifice
Since the pre-Qin period, Laba Festival has had the custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors and gods and praying for a bumper harvest and good luck. Moreover, Laba Festival is also a day for Sakyamuni to realize enlightenment and a Buddhist festival. Therefore, it is also a good wish for people to worship God, Buddha and ancestors on Laba Festival.
Step 2 drink laba porridge
Laba porridge, also known as "seven treasures and five flavors porridge", "Buddha porridge" and "everyone's rice", is a kind of porridge made of various ingredients. The custom of drinking Laba porridge on Laba Festival comes from Buddhism. The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is the day when Sakyamuni became a Buddha. In order not to forget the suffering of the Buddha before he became a Buddha, but also to commemorate the enlightenment of the Buddha on the eighth day of December, ancient Indians ate mixed porridge as a memorial. Since Buddhism was introduced to China, temples have cooked porridge with fragrant valleys and fruits and distributed it to believers and faithful men and women. In the Song Dynasty, the folk gradually formed the custom of cooking and drinking porridge on the day of Laba, and it has continued to this day.
3. Laba garlic
In northern China, there is a custom of soaking garlic with vinegar on Laba Festival, which is called Laba garlic. Laba garlic should be soaked until the first day of the Lunar New Year, and jiaozi should be eaten on the first day. Jiaozi should be vegetarian, which means it will be clean all year. Garlic dipped in wax has different tastes. "Laba garlic" not only tastes mellow, but also does not go bad for a long time.
In addition, Laba garlic is homophonic with Laba calculation, which also means bookkeeping on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
Step 4 eat ice
On the day before Laba, people usually scoop water in steel pots and freeze it. When the Laba Festival is over, they will remove the ice and break it. As the saying goes, "If you can't succeed in the coming year, look at Laba Ice first". On the morning of Laba, people go to the river and spring to smash ice, and then transport the ice home. This is the so-called Laba ice. Whoever gets up early and freezes first will have better luck.
It is said that Laba ice can cure all diseases. From this day on, the ice should be preserved for a long time, so that children can eat it happily. Of course, adults also eat.
5, Laba tofu
It is said that in ancient times, a couple lived a daily life of love. The boy went out to do business and the girl was a bridesmaid at home. One day, the daughter-in-law who had just bought tofu and was going home to cook early received an invitation from a distant relative to help her make a wedding dress. I forgot to put the tofu on the stone mill outside the door before I left, and I decided not to come back until two or three months later. As soon as I entered the door, I found that the tofu in the stone mill was getting more and more golden and hard. I smelled the fragrance, so I cut it open and tasted it. It was delicious. In the future, I will use this method and salt to take my husband out to do business and cross mountains and rivers to find food. My husband's good friend will feel fresh and dry after eating water tofu in the same industry, which is very easy to carry around and will be constantly called "daughter-in-law's water tofu" The pronunciation of the word "daughter-in-law" in Yixian County is very similar to that of "Laba". In the long run, this kind of water tofu is called Laba tofu because of its taste.
Up to now, in Yixian County, Anhui Province, every household has to bake tofu on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, which is called "Laba tofu" by the people.
6. Laba noodles
In Chengcheng area around Weibei, Shaanxi Province, porridge is generally not drunk on Laba Festival. On the morning of the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, every household eats several bowls of laba noodles. Laba noodles are made of noodles and various beans. Noodles need to be made into leek leaves for later use. Soak beans one night in advance, and cook soup with Laba on this day. When the water boils, turn to low heat and cook until the beans are cooked, and cook the noodles on medium heat. At the same time, the cooked oil will stir-fry the chopped green onion. After the noodles are cooked, pour the chopped green onion oil into the pot.
It is said that people eat "Laba noodles", which leads to longevity, entertainment and peace; Chickens eat and love to lay eggs; Sheep eat lambs and love lambs; After eating a cow, a child can give birth to two calves ... Therefore, farmers especially respect the "Laba noodles" of Laba Festival.
Laba Festival has a tradition of 1000 years. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, people all over the country will celebrate Laba according to local customs. So, what are the customs of your local Laba Festival?
How should we get there?