奇速英语

Laba Festival is celebrated on the eighth day of the last month in the Chinese lunar calendar. The last month is called “la” and “eight” sounds like “ba” in Chinese. That’s why we call it Laba Festival! This year, it falls on January 7th. How do the Chinese celebrate the Laba Festival?

1) Offering Sacrifices (祭祀) to Ancestors

At the Laba Festival, Chinese people honor their ancestors. They pray for good luck and a great harvest from their ancestors, heaven, and earth. People remember and show respect to their ancestors by giving them food, tea, or wine, and burning incense. But today, this custom is much simpler.

2)Eating Laba Porridge

Traditionally, eating Laba porridge is an important part of the Laba Festival. Laba porridge, also known as “Buddha porridge”, is made of a variety of ingredients. Eating Laba porridge on the Laba Festival started in the Song Dynasty. Now, people see Laba porridge as healthy food. In some parts of China, especially the north, eating Laba porridge is still a big tradition on the festival.

3)Making Laba Garlic and Laba Vinegar

In many northern areas of China, it’s common to make Laba garlic and vinegar on the Laba Festival. ____▲____ Just put peeled garlic cloves (蒜瓣) in a container, pour in vinegar, seal it, and store it in a cool place for a few days. The vinegar soaking with garlic is Laba vinegar. Laba garlic and Laba vinegar are traditionally eaten with dumplings during the Chinese New Year.