Laba Festival Customs 腊八节习俗

The Laba Festival, commonly known as the Laba Festival, is the eighth day of the 12th day of the lunar month. The ancients had a tradition of sacrificing ancestors and gods and praying for a good harvest. According to legend, this day was also the day when Buddha Sakyamuni became a Taoist, known as the “Magic Festival”, which is one of the grand festivals of Buddhism.

In Jiangsu, the Laba Festival has these customs.

Sacrifice to ancestors and gods. Laba Festival was originally a festival of sacrifice. Jiangsu people will go to some temples to participate in sacrifice activities and pray for a good harvest and good luck. In addition, people will go to the more famous temples to worship the gods, to exorcise and avoid ghosts, and to pray for the safety of the family for a year.

Purchase new year’s goods. For Jiangsu people, Laba is a node, which means that the pace of spring is getting closer and closer. They are going to be busy for the new year, ready to purchase new year’s goods and welcome the new year.

The most important thing in Laba Festival is to drink Laba porridge. A bowl of Laba porridge, condensed with many blessings and expectations.

The most important thing in Laba Festival is to drink Laba porridge. A bowl of Laba porridge, condensing many blessings and expectations.

People in Jiangsu eat Laba porridge in two ways: sweet and salty. Sweet Laba porridge. The main raw materials are grains, including japonica rice, glutinous rice and job’s tears rice. It has the effect of nourishing the spleen and stomach. Ingredients often choose red dates, lotus seeds, dried osmanthus, almonds, beans and other fruits cooked together, taste sweet, rich. Salted Laba porridge. There are eight kinds of food in the salty porridge, which are made of vegetables, soybeans, red beans, broad beans, oil tofu, shutters, taro and yam. The taste is salty and fresh. In Wuxi, Changzhou and other cities, there is a flourishing of salty Laba porridge.