What is the origin of rice cakes?

1. In ancient times, there was a monster named Nian who lived in the deep mountains and forests all the year round. When he is hungry, he catches other animals to satisfy his hunger. When you are hungry, you go down the mountain to hurt the people, rob people for food, and make the people miserable. Later, there was a clever tribe called "Gaozu". Every winter, when the monster was expected to go down the mountain for food, he cooked a lot of food with food in advance, twisted it into strips and put it outside the door, while people hid at home. When "Nian" came, people couldn't find anyone to eat. When they were hungry, they filled their stomachs with food strips made by people and went back to the mountains after eating. When people saw the monster go, they all went out to congratulate each other, glad that they had escaped the "Year Pass" and were safe and ready to plough again in spring. Because the grain bars are made of high, in order to feed the year, the year and the height are linked together, which is called the rice cake (homophonic).

2, the practice of eight-treasure cake: glutinous rice 1000 grams, sugar 20 grams, hemp seed 20 grams, green plum 20 grams, raisins 20 grams, peaches 20 grams, white lotus 20 grams. First, clean1000g glutinous rice, soak it in water for 24 hours, steam it in a drawer, take it out, mash it with a wooden stick, and spread it to cool for later use. Stir 20 grams of sugar, hemp seed, green plum, raisin, preserved peach, wax gourd strip and white lotus into stuffing. Brush a layer of lard in the square dish, spread the glutinous rice paste with a thickness of 1 cm, and put a proper amount of stuffing on each layer for three times. After steaming in the pot, cut into small pieces with a knife and serve.