I believe everyone is familiar with Laba porridge. In fact, Laba porridge is a kind of food and delicious food that we all need to eat during Laba Festival in China. But many people don't know that Laba porridge is actually related to Buddhism in China, but we don't know the secret relationship between them.

Then, let's look at the secret relationship between Laba porridge and Buddhism from the perspective of food culture.

During the Han Dynasty, the year-end La Worship was held in December of the lunar calendar, so the December of the lunar calendar was also called "twelfth lunar month" or "twelfth lunar month". The porridge boiled on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month was named "Laba porridge".

There are many legends about the origin of Laba porridge, and opinions vary from place to place. Among them, the most popular story is about commemorating Sakyamuni's becoming a Buddha.

Legend has it that Sakyamuni became a monk in Kadu Mountain after he escaped from the palace. He studied classics and spent six years in the mountain. When he finished learning the classics, it was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, which is what general Buddhism called "Daoism Day of Sakyamuni".

According to the Karma Sutra, due to six years of asceticism, Sakyamuni had no time to take care of his personal food and clothing. He only eats some marijuana and wheat every day, and he doesn't have enough to eat and clothes all year round. When he finished his studies, he was already dressed, skinny and looked like a dead wood.

Tired, he walked down Kadu Mountain and sat by the river begging from the villagers. A cowherd woman in the village boiled milk for Sakyamuni in a bowl, which made Sakyamuni recover quickly. After Buddhism flourished, in order to commemorate this event, it was stipulated that this day was the day when the ancient Indian people "fasted and became monks" and gave alms to the poor.

After Buddhism was introduced into China in the Eastern Han Dynasty, giving alms on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month gradually became the custom of cooking Laba porridge. "Laba porridge" is cooked in some Buddhist temples in China to commemorate the story of a woman herding cattle on the Nile to help Sakyamuni.

With the prosperity of Buddhism, Laba porridge is also popular among the people. Rich people's Laba porridge is made of dozens of kinds of Mi Dou and fruits, and friends and relatives also give gifts to each other. The poor should also cook a pot of porridge with millet and red dates on this day. Legend has it that Laba will be poorer next year if he doesn't drink porridge. In the Qing Dynasty, Laba porridge drunk in the palace was cooked by Lama of Yonghe Palace and presented as a tribute.

As soon as Laba is over, the preparations for the New Year will begin, but for the poor, the day of paying off debts is getting closer and closer, because from then on, debt collectors will come to the door one after another.