In the twinkling of an eye, it was Laba Festival again. Drinking Laba porridge and making Laba garlic... Everyone may have their own memories of this festival. Wang Juan, a folklore expert, said in an interview with chinanews.com recently that people often eat Laba porridge and Laba noodles on Laba Festival, and some places drink "Laba wine". Laba Festival is coming, and the curtain of the new year has opened. Laba Festival is related to the custom of "wax sacrifice"? Laba Festival is the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month every year, also known as "Buddha into Tao Festival". It is also said that in ancient China, some places had the custom of "wax sacrifice" related to "wax" for a long time. The time was in the twelfth lunar month, and the specific date was not fixed. This custom was later regarded as one of the sources of "Laba Festival". During Laba Festival, many places have the custom of drinking Laba porridge. After several evolutions, the content of Laba porridge has been gradually enriched. The literati of the Southern Song Dynasty carefully wrote the old stories of Wulin and said: "walnuts, pine nuts, milk Qin, persimmon and chestnut are used as porridge, which is called Laba porridge." Of course, the materials used by people in different places may be slightly different, but they basically include rice, millet, glutinous rice, plus red beans, peanuts or raisins. "There are several statements about the origin of Laba porridge." Wang Juan said that there is a story that tells people to "be diligent and thrifty" in life. "It is said that there was a man who wasted a lot of food before. The people around him felt pity and quietly put it away." Beans, rice... There are various types of grain collected. At the end of the year, the family who wasted grain had no rice to cook, so they put the accumulated grain together to cook porridge. Since then, the family also learned the importance of cherishing food. "Some places will add some mushrooms or vegetables to Laba porridge. But generally speaking, there are more than ten kinds of ingredients used to cook Laba porridge, and sometimes there may be more than ten or more kinds." She said. In addition to drinking Laba porridge, what are the customs? Laba Festival may carry the warm memory of many people, including various eating customs such as drinking Laba porridge. An old Beijinger once recalled that when he was a child, he usually cooked Laba porridge around 4 a.m. on Laba Festival. He had to put some green silk, red silk, or red and white sugar in the porridge. After three or four hours, the cooked porridge was sweet and delicious. "In the past, the elders of the family were very serious about Laba Festival. They would prepare Laba porridge for everyone and soak Laba garlic in advance. It was more ceremonial." Mentioned the Laba Festival experience, Ms. Cheng told reporters. Indeed, in Laba Festival, there are symbolic foods such as Laba garlic and Laba noodles. People choose good garlic and soak it in vinegar. When they eat dumplings on New Year's Eve, the garlic has become a beautiful green. "In addition, it is said that garlic is homonymous with 'calculation', which also reminds people that the end of the year is coming. If there are arrears or account profits and losses, they should be calculated in time." Wang Juan said that some places will drink "Laba wine" on Laba Festival. Everyone is the "carrier" of traditional festivals As the saying goes, "don't be greedy for children. It's the year after Laba". The arrival of this festival means that the year is approaching. People are busy preparing for the Spring Festival. "Traditional festivals provide a channel for people to connect with each other and maintain family affection." Wang Juan believes that in the process of preparing for the festival or during the festival, people have deepened the traditional concept of "home" and felt strong warmth. Many people understand the festival diet, folk customs, or traditional cultural knowledge through traditional festivals. In Wang Juan's view, we should pay attention to traditional festivals and feel the value and significance behind festivals through festivals. She believes that we should pay attention to people's spiritual and life needs and integrate traditional festivals into modern people's life. "Each of us is actually the 'carrier' of these festivals and the inheritor of excellent traditional culture." (outlook new era)