Laba Festival---traditional Chinese holiday 

Laba Festival (Chinese: 腊八节) is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the eighth day of the month of La (or Layue 腊月), the twelfth month of the Chinese calendar. It is the beginning of the Chinese New Year period. It is customary on this day to eat Laba congee.

Laba Festival was not on a fixed day until the Southern and Northern dynasties, when it was influenced by Buddhism and was fixed on the eighth day of twelfth month, which was also the enlightenment day of the Buddha. Therefore, many customs of the Laba Festival are related to Buddhism. It corresponds directly to the Japanese Rohatsu and the South Asian Bodhi Day.

History

The Laba Festival's name represents its date on the Chinese calendar. La is the name of the twelfth and final month, and ba means "eight". In ancient China, the "eight" referred to making sacrifices to eight gods at the end of the year.

In its original form, the festival was celebrated by making sacrifices to gods and ancestors to wish for good fortune, health, safety, and a good harvest in the new year.The word la originally referred to these sacrifices.

After Buddhism spread to China during the first century CE, the festival was used as commemoration of Gautama Buddha's enlightenment. It was given a fixed date (the eighth day of the twelfth month) during the Northern and Southern dynasties.

During the Qing dynasty, ceremonies for the Laba festival were held at the Yonghe Temple in Beijing.

Customs

Laba Festival is considered the prelude to Chinese New Year, which falls about three weeks later.

An old custom is beating drums to drive away diseases. This practice, which originated from ancient traditions of witchcraft, is still observed in places such as Xinhua, Hunan.

Laba congee

Laba garlic