There is a custom of cooking Laba porridge on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the Chinese folk lunar calendar, which is called the "Laba Festival". There are various stories about the origin of Laba porridge among the people.

Laba Festival, the day when Buddha became enlightened, is originally a Buddhist festival. Before Sakyamuni became a Buddha, he became a monk and practiced Taoism. After six years of ascetic life, he was extremely hungry and exhausted. A shepherd girl brought him milk porridge. After eating it, he regained his strength, washed away the dirt on his body, and finally became enlightened and became a Buddha under the bodhi tree. Buddhism regards this day as the "Enlightenment Day". Indian Buddhism was introduced to China. Chinese Buddhists believe that Sakyamuni became a Buddha on the eighth day of December (that is, the twelfth lunar month), so "Laba" is regarded as the enlightenment festival. In ancient times, every temple would recite sutras to commemorate this day, imitate the shepherdess in offering milk, and cook porridge with various fragrant grains and fruits to offer to the Buddha, which is called Laba porridge.

The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month has been designated as the wax festival day since the Han Dynasty. On every Laba day, in order to worship the Laba God, people often prepare a unique porridge. This kind of porridge is made from whole grains mixed with peanuts, chestnuts, red dates, walnut kernels, and almonds, cooked and stewed over low heat, and then brown sugar is added to make eight-color fragrant porridge, which is called "Laba porridge". After the porridge is cooked, several bowls should be filled and placed on the courtyard patio, on the grinding plate, or on the door of the cattle, horse, sheep, and pig pens to express the meaning of celebrating the harvest and welcoming good luck. It can be seen from this that the "Laba porridge" at that time had nothing to do with Buddhism and was completely our country's own traditional festival day.

To commemorate Yue Fei, the national hero of the Song Dynasty, Yue Fei persisted in resisting the Jin Dynasty and was framed by the treacherous minister Qin Hui. The imperial court awarded Yue Fei twelve gold medals and summoned him to Beijing. Yue Fei was helpless and hurriedly returned to the army, but he was running out of food along the way. When the people heard the news, every household sent them porridge and rice. Yue Jun mingled with them, ate together, thanked them and left. This day is the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. After Yue Fei was killed, the people burned "hundred families' rice" every year on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month to express their memory.

The emperor drank porridge. There is a rumor in Anhui that the emperor drank Laba porridge: Zhu Yuanzhang's family was poor when he was a child, and he herded cattle at the rich man's house. He was often beaten, scolded, and hungry. Once he led a cow across a single-plank bridge. The old buffalo fell under the bridge and broke his leg. The rich man locked him in a room and deprived him of food for three days and three nights. He was hungry and panicked, so he found a mouse hole. When he dug it, he found a mouse granary, which contained rice, beans, corn, pearl rice, red dates... everything. He cooked a pot of porridge with these things and ate it. He thought it was sweeter than anything else. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang conquered the world and became emperor. He was tired of eating delicacies from mountains and seas. One night, Zhu Yuanzhang remembered this kind of porridge again. He ordered the imperial kitchen to cook porridge with various grains and other grains and serve it to the ministers. This day was on the lunar calendar. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, it was named "Laba porridge".

It is a folk custom in my country to eat Laba porridge on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month every year. How did the name of the twelfth lunar month and the custom of eating Laba porridge come from? What is the meaning of Laba porridge?

1. The origin of Laba porridge

The origin of Laba porridge began with the sacrifice made by the emperor to the God of Agriculture at the end of the year in ancient my country. At the beginning of the Stone Year, a wax offering is made to pray to God.

1． Shennong's original wax sacrifice

The country is people-oriented, and food is the first thing for the people. Food is the fundamental need for people's lives, and food comes from the development of agriculture. The rise of agriculture in our country began with the invention of farm tools and arborization of grains in the Stone Year of the First Emperor Yan Emperor Shennong. "Book of Changes" Xici says: "It was written by Shen Nong, who cut the wood into sedge and kneaded the wood into plough, and taught the people the art of arboriculture and grain harvesting. "Rai is a farming tool, that is, a plow for plowing the fields. Lei is a plow handle, and 蜜 is a plow shovel. They plow the fields and harvest grains. The so-called grains are: rice, millet, millet, wheat, and Shu. "Mencius" Teng Wengong ": "Wood grains in arboriculture" sentence, Zhao Qi's "Notes" said: "Wood grains refer to rice, millet, millet, wheat, and beans." Shu is the general name for beans. After the grain harvest, the first generation Yan Emperor Shennong began to make wax sacrifices in the twelfth month of the year to pray to God, and wished: "The earth will return to its home, the water will return to its gully, insects will not grow, and the grass and trees will return to their home." "Ze." The meaning of the wax sacrifice is to celebrate the harvest, and the prayer is to pray for God's blessings, good weather, fertile land, no insects, no disasters, and another good harvest. This is the wax offering. Zhà (zhà), also chà (chà), is the name of the ancient Chinese emperor and king who sacrificed to the God of Agriculture at the end of the year, that is, the name of the sacrifice to the God of Agriculture every December in the lunar calendar. The sound of wax is la (là), which is the same as wax. Therefore, the wax offering is also called the wax offering, which is the alternate name of the wax offering.

2． The Emperor's Great Wax Eight

The wax festival has eight aspects, which are called eight waxes or eight waxes. "Book of Rites" "Jiao Te Sheng" says: "Eight wax waxes are used to offer sacrifices in all directions. "Zheng Xuan's "Notes" said: "There are eight types of wax: the first is the xianzi; the second is the secretary; the third is the farmer; the fourth is the postal watch; the fifth is the cat and tiger; the sixth is the square; and the water is the sixth. Yong means seven; insects means eight. "The Stone Year of Shennong, the first Emperor Yan, established the foundation of agriculture in ancient my country, and began to make wax sacrifices to pray to God, which formed the beginning of the year-end wax sacrifices in ancient my country. Wax sacrifices were a major event in ancient my country. Therefore, as a The emperors or kings who were the lords of a country would make wax sacrifices to worship the gods and pray to the gods every year in the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, which is called the emperor's big wax eight. "Book of Rites" "Jiao Te Sheng" says: "The emperor is big." Wax 8. The Yiqi family is called Wax. In the twelfth month of the year, all things are gathered together to offer sacrifices to the gods. Food farmers, as well as postage stamps, animals, etc., the utmost benevolence and the utmost righteousness.

Cats are welcomed to eat voles. To welcome the tiger is to eat hogs in the fields. So he welcomed him and offered sacrifices to him. Sacrifice square and water are common things. Therefore, I wish to say: "The soil returns to its home, the water returns to its valley, insects do not grow, and the grass and trees return to its marsh." Pi Bian was dressed in plain clothes and offered sacrifices. "In the text, the Yiqi family is the Shennong family. The word "si" means "瑑", which means harvesting crops. "Xi" means the person who teaches the people how to farm first. "Si" means the person in charge of agriculture. Benevolence means not forgetting the kindness and repaying it. Yi means repaying the merits. It is used to store water and block water. It is used to divert and release water. It is made of white deer skin and made of plain cloth.

The Eight Grain Festival or the Eight Grain Festival is dedicated to the Eight Grain Star. About the Eight Grain Star, "Materia Medica" says: "Bagu". : “Millet, millet, rice, beam, grass, hemp, beetroot, and wheat. "The "Note" of "Elephant Fu" says: "Rice, millet, millet, barley, wheat, soybeans, adzuki beans, millet, and hemp. "The word "Bagu" is also the name of a star. "Astronomical Records of the History of the Song Dynasty" says: "The Eight Grains and Eight Stars are in the west of Huagai and five cars in the north. Wu Mi said: The Lord waits for the harvest of eight grains. One rice, two millet, and three barley. Four wheat, five soybeans, six adzuki beans, seven millets, and eight hemp. "Book of Jin "Tianwen Zhi" says: "Five carts and five stars, and the eight stars in the west are called Bugu, which means that the eight grains will be rich and thrifty. "According to the above text, we know that the character "eight" in the emperor's Dababa is not chosen casually, but has a specific meaning. That is, to worship the Eight Grain Star God.

3. The origin of Laba porridge

Laba porridge originated from the emperor’s wax porridge in ancient my country. The content of the emperor’s wax porridge includes two aspects: one is to gather all things and eat them.

① Regarding gathering all things and eating them, the word "ten thousand" means that there are so many things, but it does not really mean that there are ten thousand kinds of things, nor is it limited to eight kinds of fruits and vegetables. The eight grain stars and the eight gods of agriculture are not meant to be sacrificed with eight kinds of fruits and vegetables. , cooked into porridge, offered to the gods, and then eaten, it is called Laba porridge. Why is it cooked into porridge instead of boiled into dry rice? Because wax sacrifice requires prayers, and wax sacrifice plus prayer is wax porridge, which is Laba porridge? . Laba porridge is homophonic to wax porridge. So, why is wax porridge not written as wax porridge? That is, why does wax become wax? Because the fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. used to sacrifice the gods at the end of the year are all dry. The fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. harvested during the year are of course all turned into dry matter, and the dry matter is called Laba porridge. Therefore, the porridge cooked with dried fruits and vegetables is called Laba porridge. The "eight" means worshiping the eight gods, and it does not refer to the eight kinds of fruits and vegetables. The dry things are in charge of the La people in the emperor's house. "Zheng Xuan's "Notes" said: "Rax, all small things are dried. "So the dry thing is called wax. The wax offering is made of dried fruits and vegetables cooked into porridge as a sacrifice. Therefore, the wax offering is also called the wax offering. That is, the wax offering is also called the wax offering, and wax eight is also called laba. The wax here is The meaning of dry things has not yet been connected with December, but the festival is held in December, and its meaning is close to the day of December.

4. ――――The December Festival

The December Festival is held in the twelfth month of the lunar calendar. So, on which day of the twelfth lunar month is it held? "Shuowen": "Winter Solstice." In the last three garrison, wax sacrifices were made to all the gods. "That is to say: the wax festival is held on the third day after the winter solstice in the lunar calendar. This day is called the wax festival day, or the wax festival for short. Since the December of each year in the lunar calendar is the month of the wax festival, the wax festival should be In the twelfth month of each year in the lunar calendar, "Historical Records of Justice" says: "Twelve is also the twelfth month. "However, the winter solstice is not a fixed day in our country's lunar calendar. Therefore, the third lunar month after the winter solstice is not a fixed day, and sometimes it falls in the first month of the next year. This It does not comply with the lunar calendar's requirement to hold the wax festival every year. What should we do? The best way is to fix the date of the wax festival on a certain day in the lunar calendar. The emperor's wax festival is called the emperor's wax festival (sacrifice to the eight agricultural gods, Ba Guxing), and the wax festival is also called Laba. Therefore, the day of the annual wax festival is officially determined as the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. "The Records of the Years of Jingchu" says: "The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is the twelfth lunar month. "This day is a fixed day, which will always be in December and will not change. It conforms to the regulation of "December is also the day of the twelfth lunar month".

5. The month of the twelfth lunar month - the twelfth lunar month The twelfth lunar month

The use of dry things to sacrifice to the gods is called the twelfth lunar month. The word "twelfth lunar month" here means dry things, not the name of the month. "Shuowen" says: "Three days after the winter solstice." In the era of "Shu, offering sacrifices to hundreds of gods during the twelfth lunar month", the day of the twelfth lunar month was sometimes in December at the end of the year, sometimes in January of the next year. That is, the twelfth lunar month of the month of the twelfth lunar month was not a fixed month. Sometimes it was October The second month is the twelfth lunar month, and sometimes the first month of the following year is the twelfth lunar month. The twelfth lunar month here refers to the month of the twelfth lunar month, and it does not refer to the name of the month. Later, the day of the twelfth lunar month was set on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. In this case, the twelfth lunar month of the lunar calendar is fixed in December. , but it still means the month of December Festival, not the name of the month. Layinla (là), the name of December Festival in ancient my country, is called December Festival.

6. Determination of the name of the twelfth lunar month

The Emperor’s Dababa. In ancient China, the emperor would sacrifice dry things to the God of Agriculture at the end of each year. After Qin Shihuang unified China, as the emperor, Qin Shihuang also had to offer sacrifices to the God of Agriculture at the end of each year. At this time, dry objects are used to perform wax offerings. The wax offering is held in the twelfth month of the lunar calendar every year, and it uses dry objects, which are called wax. Therefore, Qin Shihuang officially named the twelfth month of the twelfth lunar month as the twelfth lunar month. That is: December is called the twelfth lunar month. The twelfth lunar month here is the name of the month. The meaning of the twelfth lunar month is no longer clear, and the meaning of dry things is even less clear.

7. The origin of Laba porridge

In ancient my country, the emperor and the king had to use dry things to offer sacrifices to the gods in December of each year. The wax offering includes two aspects: one is sacrifice; the other is prayer. Sacrifices are made to the Eight Grains Star God, and dry objects are offered to express the meaning of celebrating the harvest. The dry thing is called Laba, and Ba is the Eight Grain Star God, so it is called Laba. In terms of time, the December Festival is held on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month every year. The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is also called Laba. Praying is an important aspect of the wax festival, and its content is to pray for good weather in the coming year and ensure a good agricultural harvest. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month every year, dry objects are used to sacrifice to the Eight Grains Star God and pray, which is called Laba Blessing or wax blessing. Blessing is the same as porridge, so on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month every year, dried fruits and vegetables are mixed together and cooked. Ripe porridge and offer it to the God of Agriculture to express harvest celebration and pray. Laba porridge is homophonic to the meaning of Laba blessing. This is the origin of Laba porridge. The meaning is to cook porridge with dry things, offer it to the God of Agriculture, pray for blessings, and celebrate a good harvest.

2. Misconceptions about the origin of Laba porridge

Regarding the origin of Laba porridge, there is a misconception in society that Laba porridge originated on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, which is the day of Sakyamuni’s enlightenment. Along with fruits and vegetables, they cook porridge to offer to the Buddha. It is called Laba porridge, which means to celebrate the harvest. Connect the origin of Laba porridge with Sakyamuni's enlightenment. This connection is wrong. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, monks in the temple can offer Laba porridge to the Buddha, but this does not mean that Laba porridge originated from Sakyamuni's enlightenment on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. First of all, in terms of time, December was called the twelfth lunar month, which began in the time of Qin Shihuang in my country. Before that, the twelfth lunar month was not necessarily the twelfth month, that is: December was not called the twelfth lunar month. Sakyamuni became enlightened during the Spring and Autumn Period of more than 550 BC. At that time, December was not called Laba porridge. How could the porridge cooked on December 8 be called Laba porridge? What does the word wax mean? What's more, India in ancient times used the Hindu calendar instead of the lunar calendar. The Enlightenment Day of Sakyamuni in the Hindu Calendar is not a fixed day in the Summer Calendar. How can we fix the Enlightenment Day of Sakyamuni on the eighth day of December in the Summer Calendar? Besides, what is the connection between Sakyamuni’s enlightenment and harvest celebration? Therefore, it is wrong to say that the origin of Laba porridge began with Sakyamuni's enlightenment. Wu Zimu's "Meng Liang Lu" says: "On the eighth day of December, in the Dasha temple, the monks set up five-flavored porridge to offer to the Buddha, which was called Laba porridge." This is just that the monks in the temple also set up Laba porridge to offer to the Buddha. It does not mean that Laba porridge originated from Sakyamuni's enlightenment. Laba porridge originated from the big wax porridge of the emperor in ancient my country, that is, on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month of each year, dry objects were sacrificed to the God of Agriculture and prayed to.