The La Ba Festival
By admin on 2015-03-09

The Laba Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday on the eighth day of the 12th month of the lunar calendar, will fall on Jan. 27 this year. It's customary on this day to eat a special Laba congee, or eight treasure porridge, usually made with at least eight ingredients, representing people's prayers for harvest, happiness and peace.

The La Ba (腊八) Festival is celebrated on the eighth (ba, 八) day of the 12th month (la yue 腊月). It is one of the most important traditional festivals in Chinese culture.

As the old Chinese saying goes, "After La Ba it's time for the New Year" (过了腊八就是年), the festival is also regarded as a prelude to the Chinese Lunar New Year.

The festival was originally a day of thanks for a good harvest and sacrifice to ancestors. It also marks the day in which Sakyauni, the founder of Buddhism, reached enlightenment and became immortal.