Is Laba Festival a traditional festival in China?

The twelfth lunar month festival is a traditional festival in China, usually called "Bala", which is popular in northern China on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month every year. The custom of this festival is "drinking Bala porridge". Laba is one of the grand Buddhist festivals. This day is the day when Buddha Sakyamuni became a monk and became a Taoist, also known as the Magic Weapon Festival, the Buddhist Festival and the Taoist Festival. The word "Laba" originated in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when it was also called "Laba Festival". Originally a Buddhist festival, it was passed down from generation to generation and gradually became a household name.

Laba porridge, also known as "seven treasures and five flavors porridge", "Buddha porridge" and "everyone's meal", is a kind of porridge made of various ingredients. The earliest written record of Bazhou was in the Song Dynasty. Wu in the Southern Song Dynasty wrote in Meng Lianglu: "On the eighth day of this month, the temple name is Laba. There are five kinds of porridge in temples such as the Great Temple, which are called Laba porridge. " China has been drinking Laba porridge for 1000 years. On Laba Festival, Laba porridge is made by the government, temples and people's homes. In the Qing Dynasty, the custom of drinking Laba porridge became more popular.

In the north of China, there is a saying called "Children, don't be greedy, the New Year is after Laba", which means the beginning of a new year. Every Laba Festival, the northern region is busy peeling garlic to make vinegar, soaking Laba garlic and eating Laba porridge. Laba Festival is rarely mentioned in the south. Laba Festival is a typical northern festival.