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As the saying goes, “Laba is the New Year”, the atmosphere of the New Year gradually becomes stronger from Laba. January 18, 2024 is the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, which is the Laba Festival in traditional Chinese culture. There are three “big things” to do today, drinking porridge, soaking garlic, and welcoming the New Year!
When talking about Laba, most people will think of the first “big thing” to drink Laba porridge, but they may have less knowledge of the history behind it. Where did the customs of Laba Festival come from? In different historical periods, what were the differences between the ancients passing Laba? Let’s take a look at how the ancients celebrated Laba Festival!
Laba originated very early and is closely related to La Festival. Since the pre-Qin period, people will hold a wax festival at the end of the year, that is, use prey to worship ancestors and gods of heaven and earth, praying for a bumper harvest and peace for the whole family in the coming year. There is a saying in “Records of the Grand Historian·Cinema 1950 witch cloth drawQin Zhizhi”: “Twelve years, the first La.” It means that in the twelfth year of Qin Huiwenjun, Qin State located in the west imitated the customs of the Central Plains and held the La Festival for the first time.
The day of holding the La Festival is called “LaBabaylan 1990 cloth draw“. The La Festival in the Han Dynasty was on the third Xu day of December every year, and later generations gradually fixed on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Yong’s book “Ordinary Death” clearly stated that “La is the end of the year.” It has become a custom of the agreement at that time. “Salvation for hundreds of gods” has also become one of the most important sacrifice activities in the end of the year to celebrate the harvest and pray for ancestors and gods.
《Book of Rites·MonthBabaylanThe 1990 cloth draw order recorded that the emperor at that time carried out sacrificial activities in the “commune” and prayed to the “Tianzong” for good weather in the coming year. The objects they worshiped included ancestors and the “Five Sacrifice Gods”, including sacrifices to the door gods, the Ho Gods, the Well Gods, the Kitchen Gods, the Earth Gods, etc. Cinema 1950 witch clothes draw. It can also be seen from this that the names and objects of the “La Festival” at that time were relatively complicated and there was no dedicated sacrificial object.
The customs of the La Festival have been passed down from generation to generation until the present. In Lu Xun’s short story “Blessings”, Lu Town’s year-end ceremony “Blessings” is the inheritance of the ancient lao festival Babaylan 1990 cloth draw, a series of pre-year sacrificial activities Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw, which is the inheritance of the ancient lavender festival Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw.
Laba custom was originally hunting
In the early days of Chinese characters, many characters with similar meanings were inseparable. For example, the three words “wax”, “wax”, “wax”, and “hunting” come from the same origin. In fact, the initial appearance of Laba Festival is closely related to the hunting habits of the ancients.
In ancient times, unlike now, there were sufficient grain reserves and production capacity to allow everyone to spend the winter. In the winter of Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw, the weather was cold and the ground was frozen, and the food I had harvested before was not enough to eat. Therefore, hunting has become a necessary means of production in winter.
The “Common Meaning of the Common Meanings” by Ying Shao from the Eastern Han Dynasty recorded: “La means hunting, hunting animals in fields and worshiping ancestors.” It means that people hunt on La Day and use prey to worship ancestors. The meat that cannot be eaten at this time will be preserved by air-dried, marinated, etc. to survive the cold winter. This is the origin of “bacon”.
It is worth mentioning that during the Han and Tang Dynasties, Laba Festival did not drink Laba porridge. Instead, the hunting style has been passed down.
LabaKomiks 1960 witch cloth drawFighting on Laba Day or Wax Day is an ancient style. In the pre-Qin period, this festival was even a “carnival”. “Book of Rites·Miscellaneous Notes” published: “Komiks 1960 witch cloth drawZigong Guanyu wax. Confucius said: ‘Is it a pleasure to give me? ’An replied: ‘The people in a country are crazy and are happy to be happy. ’” Zigong (DuanmuBabaylan 1990 clothes After visiting the “Wax Festival”, they expressed their discomfort of “everyone is crazy”. Confucius said that it took a year to nourish this day, and the truth is not something you can understand.
In the Tang Dynasty, Laba was very concerned about Laba Festival from the folk to the palace. The main festivals of the Laba Festival in the Tang Dynasty include “medicine and food” and lighting lamps. In addition, on Laba Day, they also held hunting, garden tours and other activities.
Wu Zetian visited Shangyuan on Laba Day. On the cold day of Laba, only the plum blossoms were left to bloom, but she insisted that all the flowers bloom. Looking at a spring scene in winter, she wrote the “Laday Announcement to Shangyuan”: “In the Ming Dynasty, we visited Shangyuan, and we were eager to hear the knowledge of the spring. Flowers must be set off overnight, don’t wait for the morning breeze to blow. ”
Tao Yuanming, the first pastoral poet in my country, had the greatest pleasure on this festival. His poem “Wax Day” says: “I sing you, how much is the wine. I haven’t figured out much, there are strange songs in Zhangshan. “Waste Day, recite poems with wine, and there is endless joy.
After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the La Day became more and more lively, and it also became the nature of purchasing New Year’s goods for the New Year. Jin Babaylan 1990 clothes draw Pei Xiu’s poem “Da Wax” says: “Scale gathers in the capital, and trade moves intertwined. The flowers chase each other, and the sleeves turn into curtains. There are meat like a hill, wine like a spring. There are food like a forest, and goods like a mountain.”
There are so many things to buy, which shows that the “Shopping Festival” at the end of the year is originally a traditional festival in our country.
Laba porridge appeared in the Song Dynasty
Laba porridge began to emerge in the Tang Dynasty, but it was only limited to the Dunhuang region and did not become popular in the Central Plains region. By the Song Dynasty, Laba porridge officially appeared. “Menglianglu” records Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw: “This monthBabaylan 1990 clothes draw (December 8), the temple was called ‘Laba’. Dasha and other temples all had five flavor porridge, called Laba porridge.”
Meng Yuanlao of the Southern Song Dynasty recorded in “Dongjing Menghualu”: ”The capital is a dayKomiks 1960 witch cloth Draw also cooks porridge with fruits and miscellaneous ingredients and eats it. “Since then, Laba porridge became popular and locals followed suit. The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month was gradually formed. The Laba Festival, which is mainly used to drink Laba porridge.
Laba porridge is mainly made of fragrant valley and fruits, and is full of five flavors, so it is also called “five flavors porridge”. After evolution and development, the methods and ingredients of Laba porridge are more colorful, and Laba porridge in various places has its own characteristics. In addition, Laba porridge has evolved from Laba garlic, Laba vinegar, Laba noodles, Laba tofu, etc., making Laba Festival a food festival with health care as the theme.
Laba Festival is also regarded as a “charity day”
The ancients would definitely make Laba porridge early. The fire would catch a fire before the dawn of the first day of the twelfth lunar month. Some people started cooking on the evening of the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month to ensure that the Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw was cooked early before the dawn of the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, because the ancients believed in the saying that “the sooner the Laba porridge, the better.”
In the Song Dynasty, the Laba porridge cooked by monks and nuns in temples was also called “Buddha porridge”. The Buddha porridge was given to the donor and helped the poor. After receiving the Buddha’s porridge, the donor will usually give back some money for lamps or other property. This is what Su Dongpo said, “The Buddha’s porridge in the morning is more rewarding.”
In the Qing Dynasty, for the purpose of “helping poverty”, monks in some places began to beg for alms to recruit rice before the Laba Festival. According to the “Yanqing County Chronicle” of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, in Yanqing, Beijing, “Monks raised rice along the gate in the early days. On that day, they made porridge and donated to the poor, and were the same as others.” Many non-Buddhist families would also give porridge and do good deeds on the Laba Festival.
The Laba Festival customs at this time were based on the whole inheritance of previous customs, and also showed some new changes in festival customs, mainly including making wax vinegar and wax wine, shaving children’s hair, piercing women’s ears, and asking for names.
The customs of Laba Festival have been deeply imprinted in the depths of the Chinese people’s memory. No matter how time changes, it still exudes a unique charm and brings new blessings and hopes.
How will you spend Laba Festival?
(References: Gansu Daily, Inner Mongolia Daily, Dazhong Daily, Wenhui Daily, CCTV News, People’s Daily, Beijing Daily Client, Guangzhou Daily Babaylan 1990 cloth draw, Guangming.com, China News Network, etc.)
Topic Host | Reporter Zheng Zongmin