Laba Porrige Fetival, the prelue of Chinese New Year

In the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, the eighth day of December, or la yue, is called Laba, also known as the Laba Rice Porridge Festival. It’s a tradition to drink a bowl of warm Laba porridge on this day, feeling the warmth all over the body as well as tasting the festive flavor of the upcoming Chinese New Year.

photo/Wang Xiaoqi

There is an old saying: Don't make your mouth water children, because the Laba Festival and the Spring Festival are just around the corner.

The Laba Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar Chinese calendar. "La" represents the 12th lunar month.

There are several legends about the origin of this festival and we could not tell which one is true.

Three major customs on Laba are ancestor worship, eating Laba rice porridge and making Laba garlic.

The main ingredients of the Laba porridge are rice and sticky rice; people also add sugar, red dates, lotus seeds, walnuts, chestnuts, almonds, longans, hazelnuts, raisins, red beans, peanuts, water caltrops, roseleaf and other various materials to make the porridge special.

Since the earliest beginning of the Song Dynasty, this porridge has been popular in the royal court, local authorities, temples and common families.

There are several legends about the origin of porridge eating on Laba: Some claim it is of Buddhist origin; some say the porridge, made of red beans, can exorcize evil from children. Others say the porridge is in memory of a poor couple.

The custom of porridge eating has been well known throughout history, from the royal court to common people.

But what we know today is that this festival started as a sacrificial offering to ancestors. It was also a time for the ancient Chinese to pray to heaven and earth that there would be a bountiful harvest.