The origin of the wax eight festival The origin and customs of the wax eight

An introduction to the origins of Laba Festival and local folklore.

Origin of <>: Laba Festival, commonly known as "Potato Worship Eight", that is, the eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, the ancients had the tradition of sacrificing ancestors and gods and praying for a good harvest. According to legend, this day is also the day of the enlightenment of the Buddha Shakyamuni, called the "Dharma Treasure Festival", which is one of the grand festivals of Buddhism.

Customs: In the north of our country, there is a saying that "children and children don't be greedy, after Laba is the New Year", Laba means that the prelude to the New Year has begun. Every Laba Festival, the northern region is busy peeling garlic to make vinegar, soaking Laba garlic, and eating Laba noodles Laba porridge.

Laba Festival, the festival is on the eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar every year, and the main custom is to drink Laba porridge. Laba Festival is one of the great festivals of Buddhism. According to Buddhist records, Shakyamuni practiced asceticism for many years before becoming enlightened, but he realized that asceticism was not the ultimate path to liberation and decided to give up asceticism.

At this time, I met a shepherd girl who offered chyle, recovered her strength after eating, sat on the Bodhi tree and meditated, and became enlightened on December 8. To commemorate this event, Buddhists hold a puja on this day to make porridge with rice and fruit to the Buddha. Southern Song Dynasty Wu Zimu "Dream Lianglu" contains:

On the eighth day of this month, the temple is called Laba. Dasha and other temples, all have five-flavor porridge, called Laba porridge. Since Buddhism was introduced to China, various monasteries have made porridge from fragrant grains and fruits to give to disciples and good men and women.

On this day, the monasteries hold puja meetings, imitating the allusion of the shepherd girl offering chyle before the Buddha's enlightenment, and cooking porridge with fragrant grains and fruits to offer to the Buddha, which is called Laba porridge. Legend has it that after drinking this kind of porridge, you can get the blessing of the Buddha, therefore, Laba porridge is also called Fu Shou Shu pure porridge, Fu porridge, and Buddha porridge. Laba was originally a Buddhist festival, but it has evolved from generation to generation and has gradually become a well-known folk festival.

Originating from Buddhism, Laba Festival is one of the grand festivals of Buddhism. According to Buddhist records, Shakyamuni practiced asceticism for many years before becoming enlightened, but he realized that asceticism was not the way to liberation and decided to give up asceticism. At this time, Shakyamuni met a shepherd girl offering chyle, Shakyamuni recovered his strength after eating, sat on the Bodhi tree and meditated, and "attained enlightenment" on December 8.

To commemorate this event, Buddhists make porridge with rice and fruits to the Buddha on this day. Since Buddhism was introduced to China, various monasteries have made porridge from fragrant grains and fruits to give to disciples and good men and women. On this day of Laba, the monasteries will follow the allusion of the shepherd girl offering chyle before the Buddha's enlightenment, and cook porridge with fragrant grains and fruits to offer to the Buddha, which is called Laba porridge.

Legend has it that after drinking this kind of porridge, you can get the blessing of the Buddha, therefore, Laba porridge is also called "Fushou porridge", "Fude porridge", and "Buddha porridge".

According to Buddhist records, Shakyamuni practiced asceticism for many years before becoming enlightened, but he realized that asceticism was not the way to liberation and decided to give up asceticism. At this time, Shakyamuni met a shepherd girl offering chyle, Shakyamuni recovered his strength after eating, sat on the Bodhi tree and meditated, and "attained enlightenment" on the eighth day of December type teasing. To commemorate this event, Buddhists make porridge with rice and fruits to the Buddha on this day.

Since Buddhism was introduced to China, various monasteries have made porridge from fragrant grains and fruits to give to disciples and good men and women. On this day of Laba, the monasteries will follow the allusion of the shepherd girl offering chyle before the Buddha's enlightenment, and cook porridge with incense fingers to eliminate grain and fruits, which is called Laba porridge. Legend has it that after drinking this kind of porridge, you can get the blessing of the Buddha, therefore, Laba porridge is also called "Fushou porridge", "Fude porridge", and "Buddha porridge".

In addition, in the pre-Qin period, some places in China have been related to the custom of "wax", the festival period is in the month of wax, the specific date is not fixed, the custom of the wax sacrifice is regarded as one of the "eight festivals" by later generations. The earliest written record of Laba porridge was recorded in the Song Dynasty. Southern Song Dynasty Wu Zimu "Dream Lianglu" contains:

On the eighth day of this month, the temple is called Lano Yeba. Dasha and other temples, all have five-flavor porridge, called Laba porridge. "The history of drinking laba porridge in China has been more than 1,000 years.

Every Laba day, whether it is the imperial court, the temple or the Li people's homes, they have to make Laba porridge. In the Qing Dynasty, the custom of drinking laba porridge was even more popular.

At the beginning, the Laba Festival was the day when the ancient Chinese ancestors sacrificed to their ancestors and gods, and later Buddhism was introduced to China and the day of the Buddha's enlightenment was also set on this day.

Back in ancient times, people would sacrifice to their ancestors and gods during Laba, praying for a harvest next year. In the pre-Qin period, this day was set on the third day after the winter solstice, which was called the wax day or wax sacrifice. Later, Buddhism was introduced into China, in order to expand its influence, the day of the Buddha's enlightenment was also set on the day of La, the two festivals coincided, Chinese Taoism worshiped the gods on this day, Buddhism honored the Buddha and worshiped the Buddha, and then gradually merged.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, this festival was set on the eighth day of the lunar month.

The most common traditional delicacy of Laba Festival is Laba congee. In ancient times, the Son of Heaven of all dynasties had to use dry things to make wax sacrifices on the eighth day of the lunar month every year to worship the gods. On the eighth day of the lunar month every year, people mix dried vegetables and fruits together, cook them into porridge and offer them to the god of agriculture.

Laba porridge is used to homophonize Laba Zhu, which means to celebrate a good harvest and pray, which is the origin of Laba porridge.

The eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar is the traditional Laba Festival of the Han nationality in China, and most areas of our country have the custom of eating Laba porridge on this day. Laba porridge is made from eight kinds of fresh grains and fruits harvested in the same year, and is generally sweetened. However, many farmers in the Central Plains like to eat laba salty porridge, which includes rice, millet, mung beans, cowpeas, peanuts, jujubes and other raw materials, as well as radish, cabbage, vermicelli, sea surplus belt, tofu and so on.

Laba Festival is also known as the Laba Day Sacrifice, Laba Festival, Princely Lapa or Buddha Enlightenment Day, the original ancient celebration of the harvest, thanks to the ancestors and gods (including the door god, the household god, the house god, the stove god, the well god) of the sacrificial ceremony, in addition to the ancestor worship and worship the activities of the gods, people also have to chase the epidemic. This activity is based on the ancient ritual of exorcism and disease. In prehistory, one of the medical methods of the Potato Dynasty was to exorcise ghosts and cure diseases.

As a witchcraft activity, the custom of beating drums in the moon to drive away the epidemic still exists in Xinhua and other areas of Hunan today. Later, it evolved into a religious festival to commemorate the enlightenment of Buddha Shakyamuni. The Xia Dynasty called Lari "Jiaping", the Shang Dynasty as "Qing Ceremony", and the Zhou Dynasty as "Big Wax"; Because it is held in December, it is called the month of wax, and the day of the wax festival is called the wax day.

The pre-Qin wax day was the third day after the winter solstice, and the beginning of the Northern and Southern Dynasties was fixed on the eighth day of the lunar month.

Said Wen" contains: "After the winter solstice, the three days of the three days are sacrificed to the gods. It can be seen that the third day after the winter solstice was the wax day. Later, due to the intervention of Buddhism, the day was changed on the eighth day of December, and since then it has become customary.

Why is the month at the end of the year called "wax" has three meanings: one is "wax, pick up", which means the alternation of the old and the new (recorded in the Book of Sui and Etiquette); The second is said to be "the same hunt of the wax", which refers to the field hunting to obtain birds and beasts to worship the ancestors and gods, and the "wax" from the "meat" is the "winter sacrifice" with meat; The three say "the wax, the epidemic welcomes the spring", the Laba Festival is also called the "Buddha Enlightenment Festival", also known as the "Enlightenment Meeting", in fact, it can be said that the eighth day of December is the origin of the wax day. It is rumored that the founder of Buddhism, Shakyamuni, practiced deep in the mountains, meditated for six years, starved to the bone as thin as wood, once wanted to abandon this suffering, happened to meet a shepherdess, sent him chyle, he ate and sat cross-legged under the Bodhi tree, on the eighth day of the first day of December to realize the Buddha, in order to commemorate and start the "Buddha Enlightenment Festival".

Chinese believers are pious, so they merge with the "Laba Day" to form the "Laba Festival", and also hold a grand ceremonial event.

Laba originated from the winter festival of the Shang Dynasty.

According to the records of ancient books in our country, "wax" is a kind of sacrifice, in the Shang Dynasty, people use the hunted birds and beasts to hold spring, summer, autumn and winter four times of worship, especially the largest and most grand scale of winter rituals, and later called it "wax sacrifice", therefore, people also call the twelfth lunar month "wax month", and the day of holding the winter sacrifice is called "wax day".

Laba is also associated with Buddhism.

It is rumored that the day of "Laba Tour" is the Buddha's "enlightenment day", and the Buddha Jianmo ascended to the ancestor Shakyamuni before becoming a Buddha, he traveled all over the famous mountains and rivers of India, and visited the wise people everywhere. Since Buddhism was introduced to China, various monasteries have made porridge with fragrant grains and fruits to offer to the Buddha.

According to the "Dream Lianglu" written by Wu Baimu in the Song Dynasty, it is recorded: "On the eighth day of the first month of December, the temple is called Laba, and the temple and other temples have set up five-flavor porridge, which is called: 'Laba porridge'." On the day of Laba, the imperial court, government and monasteries should make a large amount of Laba porridge.

The customs of Laba:

Drinking Laba porridge is one of the traditional customs of Laba Festival, in ancient times, every day of Laba, the court, the government, and the temple had to make Laba porridge, and the common people would also drink Laba porridge when they were reunited.

On the day of Laba Festival, people still have the custom of soaking Laba garlic, putting the peeled garlic cloves into a sealed jar, pouring vinegar, sealing the mouth, and the garlic cloves will gradually turn into jadeite.

In Yixian County, Anhui Province, Laba tofu is one of the traditional folk snacks, on the eighth day of the lunar month, every household has to dry Laba tofu, this kind of tofu can generally be dried for three months without taste, very suitable for the old and used to entertain guests.

1. Children's rhyme one.

Children, children, don't be greedy, it's the New Year after Laba.

Laba porridge, drink it for a few days, and it will be twenty-three.

Twenty-three sugar melons sticky. Twenty-four sweep the house.

Twenty-five frozen tofu. Twenty-six went to buy meat.

Twenty-seven slaughtered roosters, twenty-eight handfuls of dough hair.

Twenty-nine steamed steamed buns, thirty nights to stay up for one night.

Beginning. First, the second day of the new year is full of the street to walk the nai wheel, the sugar melon sacrifice stove, and the New Year is coming.

The girl wants flowers, and the boy wants cannons. The old man wants a new felt hat, and the old lady wants a new padded jacket.

Twenty-three, the sacrifice is over, and the children clap their hands and laugh.

In five or six days, the New Year will come.

Evil box, walnut, drop drop two cannons.

The five sons of Dengke ping-pong sounded, ** rose higher than the sky.

2, children's rhyme two.

Children, children, don't be greedy, friends cover Laba is the year.

Twenty-three, twenty-three sugar melon sticky, twenty-four house-sweeping days, twenty-five buy tofu, twenty-six buy pounds of meat, twenty-seven slaughter chickens, twenty-eight handfuls of noodle hair, twenty-nine steamed steamed buns, thirty nights of staying up, Chinese New Year's Eve dumplings every year.

3, children's rhyme three.

Laba Laba, cold, cold.

Drink porridge, warm, warm.

Look at the moon, it's round, it's round.

Thinking of friends, sweet, sweet!

4. Children's rhyme four.

The heavy snow is coming, and the year is thrifty to the present;

Accumulate grain to cook pot porridge, warm and cold.

5, children's rhyme five.

The post road travels to enjoy the plum blossoms, and happily spends Laba.

Porridge respects the Buddha to open the light, benevolence, righteousness, loyalty and filial piety.

The son does not dislike the mother and the young love the mother, and Chunhui is difficult to repay the grass.

The sheep kneels and feeds, the crow feeds, and the desperate road is striving for Tengda.

Drink Chang told the letter that the water thinks of the source and is alone, and the kindness spreads love to help the world.

Sincere feedback to the society, work together to benefit everyone.

The Zen heart has been stained with mud, and it does not chase the wind to protect the wonderful.

At this time, the rivers and seas are singing, and the green dyes are fertile and beautiful!

The "La" of the Laba Festival was originally a kind of ritual.

Laba Festival was the earliest winter festival of the ancient Han ancestors, called "Lap Festival", which existed as early as the pre-Qin period.

"Wax sacrifice" refers to the fact that in the last month of the year, people go into the mountains to hunt due to the cold weather in winter and idle farming, and use the prey as a "sacrifice" to sacrifice to the ancestors and the five family gods (including the door god, the household god, the house god, the stove god, and the well god), in order to pray for a good harvest in the coming year and a safe and auspicious family.

In ancient times, people ate Laba porridge during the Laba Festival, and in the earliest Laba Festival in ancient times, people would sacrifice their ancestors and sacrifice their ancestors.

The predecessor of the Laba Festival is the ancient "Laba Yue". The month at the end of the year is called "wax", in ancient times, the god rolling wax day is the most important year-end sacrifice day, generally held at the end of the year, people will sacrifice heaven and earth, ancestors. From the pre-Qin period, Lari had to chase the epidemic.

After the Sui and Tang dynasties, the sacrifice and exorcism were separated from the Lari, and the people of the Laba Festival began to drink the surplus porridge of Laba Tour.

Introduction to Laba Festival

Laba Festival, that is, the eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar every year, is also known as the "Dharma Treasure Festival", "Buddha Enlightenment Festival", "Enlightenment Meeting" and so on. It was originally a Buddhist festival to commemorate the enlightenment of Shakyamuni Buddha, and it gradually became a folk festival.