Laba Festival

Laba refers to the eighth day of the La Month.The La Month is the twelfth lunar month,the coldest month in the year.After Laba comes Chinese New Year.So there are popular jingles among Chinese as “Don’ t be greedy,as it will be Chinese New Year after the Laba Festival.” And,“In the Laba Festival,your jaw will be frozen.”

Why is the twelfth lunar month called the La Month? It is related to the year-end sacrifice practiced by ancient Chinese.They practiced two kinds of sacrifice at the end of the year,one called La sacrifice to the ancestors and the other called Zha to sacrifice to the pantheon of hundreds of gods.They were quite different in content.But being held on the same day,they were combined into one and collectively called La Sacrifice in the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-476 BC).Since it was held in December under the lunar calendar,people started calling this period the La Month.The date of La sacrifice was not fixed until the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386-589) when the 8th day of the 12th lunar month was selected,and it later evolved into Laba Festival.

Many of the original customs have disappeared.Some have been kept in a variety of forms in other festivals.For example,the New Year’s Eve dinner was associated with the feast after the La sacrifice; dressing up as Zhong Kui in Yangko is a remnant of the custom of the Danuo expelling illness activity in the La sacrifice.

Laba Festival

Laba rice porridge,an integral part of the Laba Festival,remains today.Also called the rice porridge of seven treasures and five flavors,it is composed of a variety of rice forms,beans and dried fruits.The raw materials may vary in different places,but the red bean is essential.

There are many legends about Laba rice porridge,among which the one associated with Sakyamuni is the most widely circulated.According to this legend,Sakyamuni had painfully practiced Buddhism to find the true meaning of life before becoming Buddha.One day,he fainted from hunger while meditating and was found by a passing shepherdess.She boiled several varieties of rice along with wild fruits to make porridge for him.After refreshment,Sakyamuni meditated under the Bodhi tree and finally became Buddha.Since that day was the 8th day of the 12th lunar month,it became “the day of enlightenment for the Buddha”,when monks boiled a big pot of porridge in the same way as the shepherdess and offer it to the Buddha,as well as feeding the starving poor.Even now,some big temples continue to offer porridge on the day of Laba,the only difference being that the people go to eat for luck rather than for gratifying the stomach.

Most people, however, now make porridge by themselves.Many varieties of rice are available in the supermarket for people to choose and mix together,but mixed rice is also available for those who want to save trouble.In the cold days,the whole family sits together and eats the warm Laba rice porridge,blocking out the cold wind howling outside.

On the day,making Laba garlic is another custom in north China.This is very easy to make simply by peeling the garlic and putting it into a jar,then pouring in vinegar and sealing ready for New Year’s Eve.Different from sugared garlic,this kind of garlic is as green as jade,which is called garlic sprout.“Garlic sprout” and “liquidation” are homonyms,so if you are embarrassed to ask someone who still owes you money on Chinese New Year to pay it back,you may send him a jar of Laba garlic.Beijing has an old saying: “On the day of Laba rice porridge and Laba garlic,the creditors send messages,the debtors pay back.” It is euphemistic enough to use Laba garlic to remind the debtor to pay back the money.

After eating Laba rice porridge and making Laba garlic,people begin to prepare for the Chinese New Year by cleaning and making special purchases,with a stronger and stronger sense of festivity.