腊八 Laba
The 12th lunar month in Chinese is called la yue, so the eighth day of this lunar month is la yue chu ba, or laba.
The day is also known as the Laba Rice Porridge Festival. The Laba this year falls on Jan 2.
Three major customs on Laba are ancestor worship, eating Laba rice porridge and making Laba garlic.
祭祀 Ancestor Worship
The worship of ancestors, called "腊" in Chinese, and the sacrifice for the gods, called "蜡", both frequently took place in the 12th month, which led to the traditional name of the month: la yue. And the day of sacrifice is called la ri.
喝腊八粥 Eating Laba Rice Porridge
Chanese has an ancient tradition of eating Laba rice porridage on the day of Laba festival, so we always don't forget to eat a bowl of hottish Laba rice porridage on that day for praying good luck in next year.
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.
腌腊八蒜 Making Laba Garlic
There is an ancient custom in most parts of North China that people soak garlics in vinegar on the day of Laba festival (the eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar year). And the garlics are called Laba garlics.
On the day of Laba, put the peeled garlic cloves in a clean altar, pour in old vinegar, seal and marinate for several days. The finished Laba garlic is crystal clear and green. It tastes hot and sour. What an unique flavor!
Today
Have you eaten Laba Rice Porridge?
