The origin and legend of Laba

Laba Festival is a traditional festival in China, commonly known as "Laba". It is celebrated on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month every year and is mainly popular in northern China.

According to legend, Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, was originally the son of King Surabaya, King of Kapylovi in northern India. He saw that all living beings were suffering from physical illness and death. He was dissatisfied with the theocratic rule of Brahmins at that time and gave up the throne and became a monk. After six years of asceticism, on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the bodhi tree became a Buddha.

During these six years of asceticism, Sakyamuni only ate one hemp and one meter every day. In order not to forget Sakyamuni's suffering, later generations eat porridge every year on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month to commemorate him. After Buddhism was introduced into China, temples were built in various places, and the activities of cooking porridge and worshiping Buddha became popular.

In northern China, there is a saying that "children should not be greedy, it is the year after Laba", which means the prelude to the Chinese New Year. Every Laba Festival, the northern region is busy peeling garlic to make vinegar, soaking Laba garlic and eating Laba porridge. Laba is rarely mentioned in the south, and Laba Festival is a typical northern festival.

The main custom of Laba Festival is "drinking Laba porridge". 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. China has been drinking Laba porridge for more than 1000 years. On Laba Day, government agencies, monasteries and ordinary people's homes will cook Laba porridge. In the Qing Dynasty, the custom of drinking Laba porridge became more popular.