1. Laba porridge

There is a custom of eating Laba porridge on Laba day. Laba porridge is also called Qibao and five-flavor porridge. The history of eating Laba porridge in our country has been more than a thousand years. It first started in the Song Dynasty. On every Laba day, no matter the court, government, monasteries or ordinary people's homes, they must make Laba porridge.

In the Qing Dynasty, the custom of drinking Laba porridge became even more popular. In the palace, the emperor, empress, prince, etc. would give Laba porridge to the ministers of civil and military affairs and the attendant maids, and distribute rice, fruits, etc. to various temples for the monks to eat. Among the people, every family also makes Laba porridge to worship their ancestors; at the same time, families gather together to eat it and give it to relatives and friends.

2. Cook "Five Beans"

In some places, it is not called "Laba Porridge" but "Five Beans". Some cook it on Laba Day, and some cook it on Laba Day. It is cooked on the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, and some "bird heads" are made with flour and cooked with rice and beans (five kinds of beans).

3. Laba Garlic

As soon as the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month arrives in northern China, the New Year atmosphere becomes more intense day by day. In most areas of northern China, there is a custom of soaking garlic in vinegar on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. , called Laba garlic.

Laba garlic is brewed on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. It is a custom in the north, especially in North China. The ingredients are vinegar and garlic cloves.

Soaked Laba Garlic is a traditional snack mainly popular in the north, especially in North China. It is a custom during the Laba Festival. Make garlic on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. In fact, the ingredients are very simple, just vinegar and garlic cloves.

The method is extremely simple. Put the peeled garlic cloves into a sealable jar, bottle or other container, then pour in vinegar, seal the mouth 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.

4. Laba Tofu

Laba Tofu is one of the traditional folk snacks in Yixian County, Anhui Province, and is a festive food custom. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, on the eve of the Spring Festival, every household will dry tofu. Folks call this sun-dried tofu "Laba Tofu".

5. Laba noodles

Laba noodles are the seasonal food of the Laba Festival. Traditional pasta is popular in the Guanzhong area of ??Shaanxi Province. In the Chengcheng area in Weibei, Shaanxi Province, porridge is generally not eaten during the Laba Festival. Every year on the morning of the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, every household has a bowl of Laba noodles.

6. Wheat kernel rice

Cook newly ground wheat kernels with beef and mutton, add green salt, ginger peel, pepper, grass fruit, Miaoxiang and other seasonings , after being simmered over a slow fire overnight, the meat and wheat blend into a chylus shape. When the pot is removed in the morning, the aroma is fragrant and delicious.

7. Eating ice

It’s nine days of cold weather and the riverbed is as solid as iron. In the afternoon of the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, people go to the river to shave ice with picks and carry it in baskets. go home. The ice cubes are like white jade crystals. Men, women, old and young are not afraid of cold teeth and tongues. They chew the ice cubes like eating rock candy. It is said that "if you eat Laba Ice, you won't have stomachache for a year." It means eliminating diseases and eliminating disasters.

The retrieved ice cubes are offered as offerings in water tanks, in the center of the courtyard, in the shed circle, on fruit branches, on manure piles, and on the edge of the field. And this ritual of offering ice everywhere is said to usher in good fortune and ensure a good harvest in the coming year.