The origin of eight-treasure porridge

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Buddhist community regards it as the Buddha's Enlightenment Day. Monks and nuns in the temple often cook "eight-treasure porridge" with eight kinds of food, such as glutinous rice, sesame seeds, coix seed, longan, red dates, mushrooms and lotus seeds, and invite the surrounding villagers to attend the Eucharist and give alms to the people of all ages to show their respect for the Buddha. Later, it gradually became the folk custom of cooking eight-treasure porridge (called Laba porridge).

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, it was called "La Ri" in ancient times, commonly known as "Laba Festival".

Since the pre-Qin period, Laba Festival has been used to worship ancestors and gods and pray for good harvest and good luck. According to legend, Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, gained enlightenment on the eighth day of December, so Laba has the custom of eating Laba porridge, also called Qibao Wuwei porridge, which is today's "Babao porridge".

China has a history of drinking Laba porridge for 1000 years. It first started in the Song Dynasty. On the day of Laba, Laba porridge was cooked with red beans and glutinous rice in ancient times, whether in the imperial court, yamen, temples or the people of Limin. Later, the materials gradually increased, such as red dates, lotus seeds, walnuts and chestnuts.

There are more than twenty kinds of almonds, pine nuts, longan, hazelnuts, grapes, ginkgo, water chestnut, moss, roses, red beans and peanuts.

The custom of eating Laba porridge has been passed down to the end. Laba porridge is not only the food of Laba, but also the canned eight-treasure porridge has become people's daily nutritious food.

Eating a bowl of steaming Laba porridge in winter is not only delicious and nutritious, but also can increase happiness and prolong life.

The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is the traditional Laba Festival in China. "La" was originally the name of a ceremony in ancient China.

"Customs pass. "Sacrifice": "Rites: Jia Ping, Qing Si, Zhou La, La. The words "wax", "wax" and "hunting" were used in ancient times to hunt animals in the wild and to worship ancestors and the gods of heaven and earth, so as to pray for a bumper harvest in the coming year and the peace and good fortune of the family, and were called La Worship.

Because activities in La Worship are usually held in December, it is called the twelfth lunar month, but the date in La Worship is not fixed. Since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it is said that there are eight gods in La Worship, so the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month has become a fixed anniversary. It was called "La Ri" in ancient times, commonly known as Laba Festival.

In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Buddhism was introduced into China. According to legend, the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is the day when Buddha Sakyamuni became a monk. Therefore, this day is also a Buddhist festival, called "Taoist Festival".

In addition to the activities of offering sacrifices to ancestors and worshipping gods, people also have to chase the epidemic on Laba Festival. This activity originated from Nuo in ancient times (the ritual of exorcising ghosts and avoiding epidemics in ancient times). One of the prehistoric medical methods was to exorcise ghosts and treat diseases. As a witchcraft activity, Xinhua and other places in Hunan still retain the custom of beating drums to drive away epidemics in the twelfth lunar month.

Another ancient custom of Laba, eating Laba porridge, has been passed down to this day. Eating Laba porridge has become Laba's unique holiday food culture. Laba porridge, also known as Qibao Wuwei porridge, is made of all kinds of rice, beans and dried fruits. Because its origin is related to Buddhism, it is also called "Buddha porridge" and "Fude porridge". Laba porridge appeared as early as the Song Dynasty and has a history of thousands of years.

By the Ming Dynasty, Laba porridge had become a seasonal food given by the emperor to courtiers. In the Qing dynasty, this custom was more common. On the day of Laba Festival, the palace cooked Laba porridge in a cauldron and asked the monks to chant Buddhist scriptures. The queen gave porridge to the civil and military ministers and attendants. On this day, the monks in the temple will hold a grand activity of sutra practice and tonsure to celebrate Sakyamuni's enlightenment and becoming a Buddha. At the same time, we will offer the cooked Laba porridge, such as miscellaneous grains and dried fruits, to the Buddha and give them to the people who come to the grand event.

In the Lama Temple in Beijing, there is still a big copper pot used to cook porridge at that time. Laba porridge has different tastes and ingredients due to different regions. In modern times, pearl rice, Coix seed, Coix seed and black rice are added, and some of them also put ginkgo, lily, lotus seed, longan, mung bean and flower bean, and then candied food is added. This kind of porridge is not only nutritious, but also sweet and delicious.

The making method of Laba porridge is relatively simple. First, wash the barley, rice and all kinds of beans and cook them until they are half cooked, then add the rice and millet. Finally, add red dates, chestnuts, lotus seeds, longan and sugar, cook with strong fire, and then cook with slow fire to make a paste. After cooking, put some bowls on the altar to worship the ancestors. Then put it in a food box and distribute it to relatives and friends, no later than noon. Finally, the whole family ate Laba porridge together.

In Beijing, even horses, cows, sheep, chickens, dogs and pigs are fed several spoonfuls of porridge. According to legend, the Emperor sent Lari to inspect the living conditions of the six animals, including Niu, Bi and Zhu Bajie, who were in charge of the six animals. By doing this, six kinds of animals can become strong and productive. In some places, some porridge is coated on the trunks and branches of fruit trees, hoping that the fruits will be full of branches in the coming year. In other places, some laba porridge should be frozen after eating, and then eaten day by day until the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, which is a good omen for the coming year.

There are many legends about the custom of eating Laba porridge. The most common saying is to commemorate Buddha Sakyamuni. It is said that he was originally the prince of Kapilao Kingdom. In order to seek the truth of life, he resolutely gave up the throne and became a monk. One day, he came to the Mogato country in northern India, which was sparsely populated and desolate. He was tired, hungry and dizzy with heat. Fortunately, a shepherdess passed by and cooked chyle-like thick porridge with her own miscellaneous grains and wild fruits, so that she didn't starve to death. After being rescued, he meditated under the bodhi tree and founded Buddhism. Therefore, Buddhists call the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month "Enlightenment Day" and eat Laba porridge on this day to commemorate it.

In the Han Dynasty, the year-end La Worship was held in December of the lunar calendar every year, so December of the lunar calendar was also called "twelfth lunar month" or "twelfth lunar month". The porridge cooked on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is named "Laba porridge".

There are many legends about the origin of Laba porridge, and opinions vary from place to place. Among them, the most popular story is about commemorating Sakyamuni's becoming a Buddha. According to legend, Sakyamuni escaped from the palace, and after becoming a monk in Kadu Mountain, he studied classics and spent six years in the mountain. When he finished learning the classics, it was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, which is what general Buddhism called "Daoism Day of Sakyamuni".

According to the Karma Sutra, due to six years of asceticism, Sakyamuni had no time to take care of his personal food and clothing. He only eats some marijuana and wheat every day, and he doesn't have enough to eat and wear all year round. When he finished his studies, he was already dressed, skinny and looked like a dead wood. Tired, he walked down Kadu Mountain, sat by the river and begged from the villagers.

A woman herding cattle in the village boiled milk for Sakyamuni with a bowl, which made Sakyamuni recover quickly. After Buddhism flourished, in order to commemorate this event, it was stipulated that this day was the day when the ancient Indian people "fasted and became monks" and gave alms to the poor.

After Buddhism was introduced into China in the Eastern Han Dynasty, giving alms on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month gradually became the custom of cooking Laba porridge. "Laba porridge" is cooked in some Buddhist temples in China to commemorate the story of a woman herding cattle on the Nile to help Sakyamuni.

With the prosperity of Buddhism, Laba porridge is also popular among the people. Rich people's Laba porridge is boiled with dozens of kinds of Mi Dou and fruits, and friends and relatives also give gifts to each other. The poor will also cook a pot of porridge with millet and red dates on this day. Legend has it that Laba will be poorer next year without porridge.

Laba porridge, which was drunk in the imperial palace in the Qing Dynasty, was cooked by lamas in Yonghe Palace and presented as a tribute.

As soon as Laba is over, the preparations for the New Year will begin, but for the poor, the day of paying off debts will come, because since then, debt collectors will come to the door one after another.