Introduction to Laba Festival, simple data set of handwritten newspaper

Every December of the lunar calendar is commonly known as the twelfth lunar month. The most important festival in the twelfth lunar month is the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month (the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month) is not only the Laba Festival, but also called Laba customarily. Laba Festival has a long tradition and history in China. Drinking Laba porridge and making Laba porridge on this day is the most traditional and exquisite custom of the people of the whole country. It was called "La Ri" in ancient times, commonly known as "Laba Festival". Since the pre-Qin period, Laba Festival has been used to worship ancestors and gods and pray for good harvest and good luck. In addition to the activities of offering sacrifices to ancestors and worshipping gods, people also have to chase the epidemic on Laba Festival.

2. Legend of Laba Festival

Laba Festival comes from the custom of "dressing up as a ghost with red beans". Legend has it that Zhuan Xu, one of the five emperors in ancient times, turned his three sons into evil spirits after his death and came out to scare children. In ancient times, people generally believed in superstition and were afraid of ghosts and gods. They believe that adults and children suffer from strokes and poor health because of the spectre of epidemics. These evil spirits are fearless, only afraid of red (red) beans, so there is a saying that "red beans play ghosts." Therefore, on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, porridge is cooked with adzuki beans and adzuki beans to dispel the epidemic and welcome the auspicious.

3. Laba Festival custom

(1) Laba porridge

There are 18 kinds of traditional laba porridge. The main ingredients are glutinous rice, late japonica rice and black rice. Besides red beans, peanuts, kernels, red dates, lotus seeds and longan, there are also cowpeas and raisins. In order to better strengthen the spleen and stomach, Chinese herbal medicines such as medlar, yam and poria cocos will be added.

(2) Laba tofu

It is a local specialty in Guizhou, Anhui Province. Before and after Laba, every household in Guizhou had to sun-dry tofu, and the people called this naturally sun-dried tofu "Laba tofu".

(3) Laba garlic

Pickling Laba garlic is a custom in northern China, especially in the north. The ingredients are very simple, just vinegar and garlic cloves. Put the peeled garlic cloves into a sealable container, then pour in vinegar, and put the sealed mouth in a cool place for brewing. Slowly, the garlic soaked in vinegar will turn green, and finally it can be eaten.

(4) Laba noodles

In some places in northern China where little or no rice is produced, people eat laba noodles instead of laba porridge. The next day, on the morning of the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the whole family will eat Laba noodles.

(5) laba rice

The custom in Ningxia and Henan is to eat laba rice. People in Ningxia usually cook laba rice with lentils, soybeans, red beans, broad beans, black beans, rice and potatoes, and add "ears of wheat" or "heads of birds" and chopped green onion oil before cooking. Laba rice in Henan Province is made from eight raw materials, including millet, mung bean, cowpea, wheat kernel, peanut, jujube and corn. Add some brown sugar and walnuts when cooking, which means a bumper harvest next year.

(6) Eat ice

On the day before Laba Festival, people usually scoop water in steel pots and freeze it. When Laba Festival comes, they will remove the ice and break it. It is said that the ice on this day is magical, and it won't hurt your stomach for a year after eating it.