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As the sayingKomiks says “Laba is the New Year”, and 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 can understand less about 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 in the coming year and the safety of the whole family. There is a saying in “Records of the Grand Historian: The Basic Annals of Qin”: “In the twelve years, Cinema‘s first La.” It means that in the twelfth year of Qin Huiwenjun, the Qin State located in the west imitated the customs of the Central Plains and held the La Festival for the first time.
The day when the lamb festival is held is called “Cinema Lamb festival is on the third Xu day of December every year, and later generations are gradually fixed on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Yong’s book “Ordinary Death” clearly stated: “La is the end of the year.” Large-scale sacrificial activities in the twelfth lunar month have become a customary custom. “Salvation for hundreds of gods” has also become one of the most important sacrifice activities for celebrating the harvest and praying for ancestors and gods at the end of the year.
The Book of Rites·Monthly Orders>Cinema once recorded that the emperor at that time carried out sacrificial activities in the “Cinema Commune” and prayed to the “Tianzong” for good weather. The objects they worshiped included ancestors and the “Five Sacrifice Gods”, including the Babaylan sacrifices to the door gods, the Hokage God, the Well God, the Kitchen God, the Earth God, etc. It can also be seen from this that the names and objects of the “La Festival” at that time were 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” and a series of pre-New Year sacrificial activities are the inheritance of the ancient La Festival.
Laba custom was originally hunting
In the early days of Chinese characters, many characters with similar meanings were inseparable. The three words “wax”, “la” and “hunting” come from the same origin. In fact, the original appearance of Laba Festival is inseparable from the hunting habits of ancient people.
In ancient times, unlike now, there were sufficient grain reserves and production capacity to allow everyone to spend the winter. It was cold and cold in winter at that time, and it was impossible to produce food, and the food I had harvested before might not be enough to eat. Therefore, hunting has become a necessary means of production in winter.
The “FengCinema 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 also be preserved by air-dried, marinated, etc. to survive the cold winter. This is the origin of “babay”.
It is worth mentioning that during the Han and Tang Dynasties, the Laba Festival did not have the custom of drinking Laba porridge, but the hunting style has always been passed down.
Laba was once a “carnival”
Feasting on Laba or Wax Day is an ancient style. In the pre-Qin period, this festival was even a “carnival”. “The Book of Rites·Miscellaneous Notes” records: “Zi Gong is watching wax. Komiks Confucius said: ‘Is it a pleasure to give it? ’An replied: ‘Everyone in a country is crazy, and he is not sure of his happiness. ’” Zigong (Duanmu Ci) expressed his discomfort to “Everyone is crazy” after visiting the “Wax Festival”. Confucius said that it took a year for everyone 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 scenery 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. “Wao Day, I recite poems with wine and endless fun.
After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the La Day became more and more lively, and there was also the nature of purchasing New Year’s goods for the New Year. The poem “Dao Wax” by Pei Xiu of the Jin Dynasty said: “Scale gathers in the capital and trade is intertwined. The flowers chase each other and turn their backs into curtains. There is meat like Babaylan hill, and wine like spring. CinemaThere are food like forests and goods like mountains. ”
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 DynastyKomiks‘s heads, but it was only limited to the Dunhuang region and did not become popular in the Central Plains. By the Song Dynasty, Laba porridge officially appeared in the stage. “Dream Lianglu” records: “On the eighth of this month (December) the temple was called ‘Laba’. Dasha and other temples, Babaylanall set up five-flavor porridge, called Laba porridge. Komiks“
Meng Yuanlao of the Southern Song Dynasty recorded: “On the day of the capital, all families also cooked porridge with fruits and miscellaneous ingredients and ate it.” Since then, Laba porridge has become popular and has been imitated in various places, and the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is the Laba porridge, gradually forming the Laba Festival, which is the main custom of drinking Laba porridge.
Laba porridge, mainly uses fragrant valley and fruits as raw materials, and has all kinds of flavors, so it is also called “KomiksFive 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.
CinemaLaba Festival is also regarded as a “charity day”. The ancients would definitely make Laba porridge early, and it would catch fire before dawn on the eighth 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 porridge is cooked before dawn on the eighth day of the 8th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the 19th day of the
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 is more rewarding today.”
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, “the monks raised rice along the gate in the early stage, and then BabaylanOn the day, I make porridge and donate to the poor, and I am with others. “Many non-Buddhist families will also give porridge and do good deeds on the Laba Festival.
The Laba Festival customs at this time have also shown some new changes in the festival customs based on the overall inheritance of previous customs, mainly including making wax vinegar and wax wine, shaving children’s hair, piercing women’s ears, and asking names.
The Laba Festival customs have already been href=”https://comicmov.com/”>BabaylanThe memorials are deeply imprinted in the memory of Chinese people. No matter how the years change, it still exudes 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, Guangming.com, China News Network, etc.)
Topic Host | Reporter Zheng Zongmin