Laba Festival, which is the eighth day of the 12th lunar month every year, is also known as the "Dharma Treasure Festival", "Buddha Enlightenment Festival", "Enlightenment Meeting" and so on. Originally a Buddhist festival to commemorate the enlightenment of Sakyamuni Buddha, it has gradually become a folk festival.
Laba Porridge, also known as "Seven Treasures and Five Flavor Porridge", "Buddha Porridge", "Family Rice", etc., is a kind of porridge made from various ingredients. The earliest written record of Laba porridge was in the Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty Wu Zimu's "Menglianglu": "On the eighth day of this month, the temple is called Laba. Temples such as Dasha have five-flavor porridge, which is called Laba porridge." The history of drinking Laba porridge in my country has been more than a thousand years. On the day of Laba, whether it is the imperial palace, the temple or the common people's homes, they all make Laba porridge. In the Qing Dynasty, the custom of drinking Laba porridge was even more prevalent.
In northern of China, there is a saying, "Don't be greedy, children, after Laba is the New Year", and passing Laba means the beginning of the New Year. Every Laba Festival, the northern region is busy peeling garlic to make vinegar, soaking Laba garlic, and eating Laba noodles and Laba porridge. Laba is rarely mentioned in the south, Laba Festival is a typical northern festival.
