"Children, children, don't be greedy. After the Laba Festival, it will be New Year; after a few days of Laba Congee, it will be twenty-three"... When this familiar song rings, it will be another Laba Festival. On January 18th, the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, commonly known as the Laba Festival, is celebrated. Coincidentally, this day was still the first day of April 9th. Wang Laihua, a folklorist and researcher of Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, introduced that Laba, as the first important festival in the lunar month, has a long tradition and history in China. Drinking a bowl of Laba Congee made of colorful "Laba rice" has become one of the most traditional folk customs. Under the influence of Buddhist culture, Laba Congee is also known as "Congee for longevity", "Fude Congee" and "Buddha porridge", which means chasing the epidemic to welcome spring and praying for blessings and longevity. The writer Bing Xin once wrote in his work Laba Congee: "This Laba Congee is made by mixing glutinous rice, brown sugar and eighteen kinds of dried fruits. The big dried fruits are red dates, longans, walnuts, ginkgo, almonds, chestnuts, peanuts, raisins, etc., and the small ones are all kinds of beans and sesame seeds. It tastes very sweet and delicious." In addition to Laba Congee, many places in China also have Laba garlic, Laba vinegar Eating dishes such as Laba noodles. Writer Lao She once specifically described Laba garlic in his work "Spring Festival in Beijing": "On Laba day, Laba garlic is also soaked. Garlic cloves are placed in high vinegar on this day, sealed, and used for eating dumplings during the Chinese New Year. By the end of the year, garlic is soaked like jade, and vinegar also has a spicy taste, which is both beautiful in color and taste, making people want to eat more dumplings." "Thanks to the influence of the writers' words, Laba food has also been engraved with a strong cultural heritage and humanistic flavor." Wang Laihua said that with the development of the times and social progress, there are already cooked Laba Congee, soaked Laba garlic and Laba vinegar on the market, to provide people who are busy with work and have no time to cook and brew. Looking through the calendar cards, some people will find that this year's Laba falls on the first day of April 9th. In Wang Laihua's view, this coincidence is very normal. He said that not only does Laba happen to coincide with April 9th, but it also happens to coincide with May 9th, and even seasonal nodes such as New Year's Day, Xiaohan, and Da Han. For example, Laba in 2012 coincided with New Year's Day, Laba in 2015 caught up with the first day of May 9th, Laba in 2017 was on the same day as Xiaohan, and Laba in 2021 was on the same day as Da Han. "La Qi La Ba, freeze your chin.". On the day of Laba, although the weather is cold, it also means that the Lunar New Year is approaching. There is a saying that goes, "After Laba, it is New Year.". After the Laba holiday, the atmosphere of the Chinese New Year competes day by day. When Laba arrives, remember to drink a bowl of hot and sweet Laba Congee and taste the love of parents, nostalgia and joy of the year in this bowl of Congee. (Lai Xin She)