Origin of Laba Festival The most important festival of the twelfth lunar month is the eighth day of December. In ancient times, it was called "Laba Day" and is commonly known as "Laba Festival".

Since the pre-Qin Dynasty, the Laba Festival has been used to offer sacrifices to ancestors and gods, praying for a good harvest and good luck.

In addition to activities to worship ancestors and gods during the Laba Festival, people also have to fight against epidemics.

This activity originates from the ancient Nuo (ancient ritual to drive away ghosts and avoid epidemics).

One of the medical methods in prehistoric times was to expel ghosts and cure diseases.

As a witchcraft activity, the custom of beating drums in the twelfth lunar month to ward off epidemics still exists in Xinhua and other areas of Hunan.

It is said that the enlightenment day of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, was also on the eighth day of December, so Laba is also a festival for Buddhists, also known as "Buddha's Enlightenment Festival".

Legend 1: The Laba Festival is the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month (December) of the lunar calendar. It originated from the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. It is said that when Zhu Yuanzhang was in trouble and suffered in prison, it was cold weather, cold and hungry. Zhu Yuanzhang actually became a rat in the prison.

After digging the hole, I found some seven or eight kinds of whole grains including red beans, rice, and red dates.

Zhu Yuanzhang cooked these things into porridge. Because it was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhu Yuanzhang nicknamed this pot of multi-grain porridge Laba porridge.

Enjoyed a wonderful meal.

Later, Zhu Yuanzhang brought peace to the world and became emperor from the north to the south. In order to commemorate that special day in prison, he designated this day as Laba Festival and officially named the whole grain porridge he ate that day Laba porridge.

Legend 2: On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Chinese people have the custom of eating Laba porridge.

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".

"Laba" is a grand Buddhist festival.

Before liberation, Buddhist temples in various places held Buddha bathing meetings and chanted sutras. They also imitated the legend of the shepherdess offering chyle before Sakyamuni attained enlightenment. They used fragrant grains, fruits, etc. to cook porridge for the Buddha, which was called "Laba porridge".

He gave Laba porridge to his disciples and faithful men and women, and it became a custom among the people.

It is said that before the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in some temples, monks hold alms bowls and go alms along the streets, cooking the collected rice, chestnuts, dates, nuts and other materials into Laba porridge and distributing it to the poor.

Legend has it that after eating it, you can get blessings from the Buddha, so the poor call it "Buddha porridge".

Lu You's poem in the Southern Song Dynasty goes: "Nowadays, Buddhas feed each other more porridge, while Juejiang Village keeps new things." It is said that there is a "restaurant" for storing leftovers in Tianning Temple, a famous temple in Hangzhou. Normally, the monks dry the leftovers in the sun every day and accumulate a

The surplus grain of the new year is cooked into Laba porridge on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month and distributed to believers. It is called "Fushou porridge" and "Fushou porridge", which means that eating it can increase happiness and longevity.

It can be seen that the monks in the temples at that time cherished the virtue of food.

Laba porridge was cooked with red beans and glutinous rice in ancient times. 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 the vast areas south of the Yangtze River, northeast, and northwest of my country still retain the custom of eating Laba porridge, but it is rare in Guangdong.

The ingredients used vary, and glutinous rice, red beans, dates, chestnuts, peanuts, ginkgo, lotus seeds, lilies, etc. are often used to cook sweet porridge.

There are also those that add longan, longan meat, candied fruit and the like.

Eating a steaming bowl of Laba porridge in winter is both delicious and nutritious, and can indeed increase happiness and longevity.

Legend 3: The Laba Festival comes from the custom of "red beans fighting ghosts".

Legend has it that the three sons of Zhuanxu, one of the Five Ancient Emperors, turned into evil spirits after their death and came out to frighten their children.

In ancient times, people generally believed in superstition and were afraid of ghosts and gods. They believed that strokes and poor health in adults and children were caused by epidemics and ghosts.

These evil ghosts are not afraid of anything but red beans, so there is a saying that "red beans beat ghosts".

Therefore, on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, porridge is made with red beans and adzuki beans to ward off epidemics and welcome good luck.

Legend 4: The Laba Festival comes from people’s memory of their loyal minister Yue Fei.

At that time, Yue Fei led his troops to fight against the Jin Dynasty in Zhuxian Town. It was the severe winter of the ninth month. The Yue family army was suffering from lack of food and clothing, and was starving and freezing. People sent porridge to the Yue family army one after another. The Yue family army had a full meal of "Qianjia porridge" sent by the people, and the result was great.

Return victoriously.

This day is the eighth day of December.

After Yue Fei's death, in order to commemorate him, the people cooked porridge with grains, beans and fruits every eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, which finally became a custom.

Legend 5: Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall, and migrant workers from all over the world came under orders. They could not go home for many years, so they had to rely on their families to provide food for them.

Some migrant workers live thousands of miles away from their homes and cannot receive food. As a result, many migrant workers starved to death at the Great Wall construction site.

One year on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the migrant workers who had no food to eat jointly accumulated a few handfuls of grains, put them in a pot and cooked them into gruel. Each of them drank a bowl, and eventually they starved to death under the Great Wall.

In order to mourn the migrant workers who starved to death at the Great Wall construction site, people eat "Laba porridge" every year on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month as a commemoration.

Legend 6: According to legend, the old couple lived a hard-working, frugal life and saved a large fortune. However, their precious son failed to live up to expectations and was not virtuous in marrying a daughter-in-law. They soon lost the family fortune. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month,

The young couple were freezing and hungry. Fortunately, villagers and neighbors came to help and cooked a pot of "hybrid porridge" mixed with rice, noodles, beans, vegetables, etc.