The origin of Laba Festival

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The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month every year is the Laba Festival. "Lab" means "the twelfth lunar month". Why is the twelfth lunar month called the "twelfth lunar month"? Historians pointed out that in ancient my country, "La" was originally a kind of sacrificial ritual, which was called "Daba". In the Shang Dynasty, people used hunted animals to hold four major sacrifices in spring, summer, autumn and winter every year to worship their ancestors and the gods of heaven and earth. Among them, the winter sacrifice is the largest and most solemn. Later, the winter sacrifice was called "December Festival". Therefore, people call December the "twelfth lunar month", and the day when the winter festival is held is called the "twelfth lunar month". The day of the twelfth lunar month was not fixed at that time. In the Han Dynasty, it was clarified that the third garrison day after the winter solstice was "Laba Day". Laba porridge was not eaten, but it was just a day to sacrifice to the gods. It was not until the Northern and Southern Dynasties that the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month was fixed as the "Laba Festival". People use this to worship their ancestors and the gods of heaven and earth, and pray for a good harvest and good luck.

As we all know, the most common custom during the Laba Festival is to drink Laba porridge. There are many different opinions about the origin of Laba porridge, and there are roughly the following legends:

1 "Buddha's Practice" said:

It is said that Laba porridge came from India. The founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni, was originally the son of King Suddhodana of Kapilavastu in ancient northern India (now in Nepal). Seeing that all living beings were suffering from birth, old age, illness, and death, he was dissatisfied with the theocratic rule of Brahmins at that time, so he gave up his throne and became a monk to practice Taoism. There was no harvest at first, but after six years of asceticism, on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, he enlightened and became a Buddha under the bodhi tree. During these six years of asceticism, he only ate one hemp and one meter a day. Later generations will not forget his suffering and eat porridge on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month as a commemoration. "Laba" has become the "anniversary of Buddha's enlightenment".

2 "The shepherd girl saved the Buddha":

This is the most widely spread and recognized statement. Legend has it that Buddha Sakyamuni left the palace to practice, but after years of hard work, he achieved nothing. He wanted to bathe in the river to clear his mind, but after bathing, he was too weak to crawl back to the shore. The shepherd girl Suyada (meaning good life) pulled him ashore and gave him a bowl of porridge made of rice, chestnuts, etc. After eating, the Buddha became energetic and came to the bodhi tree to awaken. This day happens to be the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Buddhist disciples regard porridge as a good medicine. The temple offers porridge to the Buddha every year on Laba day and gives it to the world. Affected by this, our country's folk gradually formed the custom of eating Laba porridge.

3 "Qin Great Wall Construction" said:

It is said that when Qin was building the Great Wall, migrant workers lived and fed on the construction site all year round, but they had to rely on their families to provide food. Some people's families were far away or poor, so food could not be delivered in time. One year, on Laba Day, the migrant workers ran out of food. Everyone rummaged through the food bags, gathered together the beans, rice and other food they had collected, and cooked it. I ate a pot of porridge, but in the end I starved to death. In order to commemorate these migrant workers, people eat Laba porridge every year when they go to Laba.

4 "Baowa repented" said:

It is said that there was a man named Baowa who was lazy and playful, and lived a luxurious life. Soon he ruined the property left by his parents. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month this year, everyone else started preparing New Year's goods, but his family's granary was at its lowest. Looking at his daughter-in-law Lahua whose face was full of tears, Baowa felt ashamed. After hearing the news, the villagers sent a bowl of rice to the east family and a bowl of beans to the west family, and brought various grains and vegetables. Lahua put together the grain and vegetables sent by the villagers and cooked a pot of porridge, which solved the temporary difficulty. From then on, Baowa not only worked hard, but also lived frugally, and soon became rich. In order for Bao Wa to remember this lesson forever, Laba Hua cooks Laba porridge every year during the Laba Festival. In order to educate their children with Bao Wa's stories, people also eat Laba porridge on this day, which has gradually become a custom.

5 "The prodigal son of the Zhang family" is said

There is a folk story saying that a rich man named Zhang got a son in old age and doted on him. As soon as the old couple passed away, the boy squandered the family. , and soon became a pauper. On the day of Laba, the north wind was howling, and Xiao Zhang was suffering from hunger and cold. He swept through the grain hoards at home and cooked a pot of porridge with all kinds of grains and beans. However, before the porridge was ready, he died of cold and hunger. Later, people would get some grains and beans to cook porridge in Laba to warn future generations not to be extravagant in anything, otherwise they wouldn't even be able to drink porridge.

Don’t underestimate the Laba Festival. This festival serves as a link between the past and the future. Its arrival marks the official start of the traditional Chinese Spring Festival. The folk song goes: "Laba, Laba, children want cannons, girls want flowers." From this day on, people begin to buy new year's goods to welcome the annual New Year festival. There are also folk songs that say, "Old lady, don't be upset. After Laba Festival, it will be the New Year. Drink Laba porridge for a few days, and you will be happy until you are twenty-three..." Laba Festival has arrived, can the Spring Festival be far behind? In other words, with the Winter Festival as the prelude and Laba as the symbol, the Chinese people who have worked hard for a year have begun to enter the most comfortable and comfortable period of the year. The Carnival Month of the Han nation is about to begin.

The main folk customs of the traditional Laba Festival

①Drinking Laba porridge

Speaking of the Laba Festival, we have to talk about the most common and important custom in the festival, drinking Laba porridge Laba porridge. Laba porridge is also called Qibao and five-flavor porridge. In ancient times, it was cooked with red beans and glutinous rice. Later, the ingredients gradually increased.

Zhou Mi of the Southern Song Dynasty wrote "Old Martial Arts": "Porridge made from walnuts, pine nuts, milk mushrooms, persimmon mushrooms, persimmon chestnuts, etc. is called 'Laba porridge'". To this day, people in many areas of our country still retain the custom of eating Laba porridge. The materials used vary, and glutinous rice, red beans, dates, chestnuts, peanuts, ginkgo, lotus seeds, lilies, etc. are mostly used to cook sweet porridge. There are also those that are cooked with longan, longan meat, candied fruits, and other ingredients.

According to ancient customs, people began washing rice and washing ingredients on the seventh night of the twelfth lunar month, then boiled it in a pot over high fire, and then simmered it slowly over low fire until the next morning. After the Laba porridge is cooked, you must first worship the gods and ancestors, then distribute it to relatives and friends, and finally the family will eat Laba porridge together.

An article describes the process of making Laba porridge in the past and the scene of Laba Day: "There are many varieties of Laba porridge in various parts of China. Among them, those in Beijing are the most particular, mixing in white rice. There are many items in it, such as red dates, lotus seeds, walnuts, chestnuts, almonds, pine nuts, longans, hazelnuts, grapes, ginkgo, water chestnuts, black hair, roses, red beans, peanuts... There are no less than 20 kinds in total that people eat on the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month. In the evening, I started to get busy, washing the rice, soaking the fruit, removing the skin, removing the core, sorting and then starting to cook it at midnight, then simmering it over low heat until the next morning, the Laba porridge was ready. For those who are particular about it, they will first carve the fruit into human shapes, animals, and patterns, and then cook it in a pot. The more unique thing is to put fruit lion in the Laba porridge. Fruit lion is made of several kinds of fruits in the shape of a lion. Use the crispy dates with the date cores removed and dried as the lion's body, half a walnut kernel as the lion's head, the peach kernel as the lion's feet, and the sweet almonds as the lion's tail. Then stick them together with sugar and put them in a porridge bowl. It looks like a little lion. If the bowl is larger, you can put two lions or four little lions on it. What’s more exquisite is to use date paste, bean paste, yam, hawthorn cake and other foods of various colors to make eight immortals and longevity stars. , Arhat statues. This kind of decorated Laba porridge can only be seen on the altars of large temples. After the Laba porridge is cooked, it must be presented to relatives and friends before noon. It is for the whole family to eat. If you keep the leftover Laba porridge for a few days, it is a good sign. If you give the porridge to the poor, it is for yourself. ”

②Other food customs

Tofu: It is a folk specialty in Qianxian County, Anhui Province. Before and after the Laba Festival on the eve of the Spring Festival, every household in Qianxian County will make tofu. This kind of naturally sun-dried tofu is called "Laba Tofu".

Emerald Jasper Laba Garlic: Soaking Laba Garlic is a custom in the north, especially in North China. As the name suggests, garlic is brewed on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. In fact, the ingredients are very simple, just vinegar and garlic cloves. The method is also extremely simple. Put the peeled garlic cloves into a container that can be sealed, such as a jar or bottle, then pour vinegar into it, seal it and put it in a cold place. Slowly, the garlic soaked in vinegar will turn green, and eventually it will become completely green, like emerald jasper.

Laba noodles: In some places in northern my country that do not produce or produce little rice, people do not eat Laba porridge, but eat Laba noodles. The next day, make sautee with various fruits and vegetables, roll out the noodles, and on the morning of the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the whole family will eat Laba noodles.

Cooking "five beans": In some places, people cook rice porridge on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. It is not called "Laba rice porridge" but called "five beans". Some cook it on the same day as the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, and some cook it on the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month. , you also need to use noodles to knead some "bird heads" and cook them with rice and beans (five kinds of beans). It is said that if people eat "sparrow heads" in Laba, the sparrows will have headaches and will not harm their crops in the coming year. The cooked "five beans" are not only eaten by oneself, but also given to relatives and neighbors. Make it hot and eat it with meals every day until the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, which symbolizes more than enough for many years.

There is also a folk legend about cooking "five beans". According to legend, when Ouyang Xiu was out of power in the Song Dynasty, he sold his writings to make a living. I met a daughter-in-law named Li who chose a son-in-law. After Ouyang Xiu won the lottery, Mr. Li kicked his daughter out because he disliked the poor and loved the rich. Miss Li is a loyal woman, and she vows to be Ouyang Xiu's lifelong companion, and lovers will eventually get married. From then on, Ouyang Xiu gave his wife the money he got from selling his writing. His wife lived frugally and lived frugally in running the household. They only ate beans and rice porridge every morning, and when the hard days were over, his wife took out the money she had saved in daily life to pay for Ouyang Xiu's expenses. Ouyang Xiu asked where the silver came from, and his wife said that it was saved by eating beans and porridge. Later, Ouyang Xiu was named on the gold medal list, became a high official, and took his wife to the post. His wife was afraid that he would forget his roots after taking a high-ranking position, so she cooked him a meal of rice porridge with five kinds of beans on the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month. When Ouyang Xiu tasted it, he repeatedly said: "It tastes bad! It tastes bad!" His wife then told about the suffering she had experienced in the past. Ouyang Xiu deeply felt that his wife was a virtuous wife, so he set a rule in his family that they would eat beans and porridge on the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month every year. After spreading to the people, the custom of cooking "five beans" was formed.

Folk Ballad Day: Mung beans are green, don’t forget the beginning of hardship; soybeans are yellow, don’t forget to make a fuss; cowpeas and cowpeas, don’t forget vegetable soup; broad beans and silkworms, don’t forget the cold in the middle of the night; peas and peas, don’t forget to become an official. Don't be greedy.

Since the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month is very close to the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the local people confuse cooking "five beans" with "Laba porridge", and call "five beans" "Laba porridge". In fact, "five beans" " and "Laba porridge" are two different concepts.

③Other customs

In the Central Plains area, there is a custom of feeding jujube trees with Laba porridge. Use a knife or ax to cut the bark of the jujube tree, and paste the Laba porridge into the ax marks, which is called feeding the jujube tree.

In this way, the jujube tree can bear more fruits next year. The folk proverb goes: "One axe, five stones will be made; one knife will make ten knots." This shows people's desire for a good harvest.

In some places, on the seventh night of the twelfth lunar month, every family has to "freeze ice" for their children. In a bowl of water, adults carved various flowers from carrots and white radish, and used coriander as green leaves, and placed them on the outdoor windowsill. Early the next morning, if there are lumps on the ice in the bowl, it heralds a bumper wheat harvest in the coming year. Then pour the ice cubes out of the bowl. They are colorful, crystal clear and really beautiful. The children each had their hands together, playing and sucking at the same time. It is said that in the early morning, as soon as some farmers get up, they go to the river ditches and ponds to make ice. They pour the ice cubes into their fields or on the dung piles to pray for good weather and good harvests in the coming year, which expresses the working people's desire for a good harvest. Good wishes.