The Laba Festival, a traditional Chinese festival, had basically taken shape in the Song Dynasty. At that time, the main celebrations included the Bathing Buddha Festival and eating Laba Congee. Poetry records life, opening up the works of ancient poets, let's see how they celebrated the Laba Festival. The celebration event of Su Shi bidding farewell to "internet celebrity" Zhang Huaimin on the Laba Festival, the Bathing Buddha Meeting, was hosted by monks from the temple and was lively as they walked through the streets and alleys. The Song Dynasty's "Wulin Jiushi" records: "Monks and nuns competed to store bronze statues in small pots, soak them in sugar water, cover them with flower sheds, and welcome them with cymbals. They went to the wealthy rooms of their mansions and watered them with small ladles in order to seek benefits." Monks and nuns invited the Buddha statues out of the hall, placed them in small pots filled with sugar water, and sent them to people's homes for inspection amidst the loud sound of gongs and drums. The Bathing Buddha Festival was originally held on the Buddha's birthday on April 8th, but later moved to the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. The "Record of Dreams in Tokyo" recorded the activity scene at that time: on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, monks and nuns paraded through the streets, holding bronze or wooden Buddha statues, while reading Buddhist scriptures, they dipped poplar or willow branches in perfume and sprinkled it on the Buddha statues. During Su Shi's exile to Huangzhou, he recorded this custom in his poetry. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the sixth year of Yuanfeng (1083), Su Shi drank in the warm pavilion of his good friend Zhang Huaimin and celebrated the festival together. Who is Zhang Huaimin? He was the idle person who, more than fifty days ago, Su Shi wore his clothes and visited the court at night, and became a "internet celebrity" more than 900 years later: "On the night of October 12th in the sixth year of Yuanfeng, he was about to undress and enter the house under the moonlight, and set out happily. He had nothing to do with him, so he went to Chengtian Temple to find Zhang Huaimin. Huaimin had not yet gone to bed, and they walked together in the courtyard." At that time, the idle person Zhang Huaimin had received the imperial court's transfer order and was about to return to Beijing to take up a new position. Su Shi's visit this time is also to bid farewell to him. He wrote the poem "Nangezi · Huangzhou Laba Day Drinking Huaimin Pavilion". First, he congratulated him on his new job at the arrival of the New Year, which can be described as a double happiness: "Take the Cailuan to go back and take advantage of the New Year." Second, he hoped that after he entered Beijing, he would be in a prosperous place, and also not forget his old friends in Huangzhou: "Don't forget the old people who were haggard and old by the river." The third meaning is that the weather is not cold, and it is also the Buddha Bathing Festival. It is a rare time to get together: "Warm up the incense burning pavilion, and bathe in the Buddha's sky in the cold." Lu You received Buddhist porridge, which is more rural and charming in the Song Dynasty, Laba Congee has also entered the folk from the temple, becoming a popular festival custom. Ordinary people will use "fruit miscellaneous materials" to cook Congee. In addition to eating by themselves, people also give Laba Congee to each other as a gift to connect with each other. As the Song people said in "Chicken Ribs", "On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in Ningzhou, people competed to make rice porridge. They used persimmons, chestnuts, and other colors to dye flowers and birds, which is more like a gift." It is said that the gift of Laba Congee comes from the story of the chyle offering in Buddhism: when Buddha got his way under the Bodhi tree, he got the milk Congee (chyle) offered by the shepherdess. This kind of milk Congee is cooked by adding rice, millet, etc. into the milk of cattle and sheep. It has the same advantages as Laba Congee, so people also call Laba Congee Buddha porridge and monk Congee. On a snowy Laba Festival, with cold weather, the Northern Song poet Wang Yang (1087-1154) woke up early in the morning. While studying in the study, Fang Zhishan, a neighbor, sent a steaming Laba Congee. Wang Yang took the bowl and carefully examined it, counting out eight ingredients: sweet fruits such as chestnuts, peaches, dates, persimmons, as well as precious items such as water chestnuts, jujubes, lingzhi, and fungus. This made his fingers twitch and he drank it all in one breath. Moved by the kindness of his neighbor, he wrote a short poem about the reason why Fang Zhishan, the southern neighbor, gave Congee to him when he got up early on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month: "On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the customs of the Liang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty were passed on from family to family. It is said that Congee is a kind dish of Youseng. It is fragrant with chestnut, peach, jujube, persimmon and other fruits, but it is not recorded in the poems." Lu You, the poet of the Southern Song Dynasty, also received a gift of Congee on the eighth lunar month. In December 1192, after being dismissed from office, Lu You retreated to his hometown. On sunny days, the 68 year old poet often walks around with a bamboo cane. He saw smoke rising from the neighbor's firewood door, and the hooves of cows by the stream covering the riverbank, as if spring had arrived earlier. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, he strolled to the West Village and saw people giving each other porridge, which made him feel more charming in the countryside. For this reason, he wrote "Walk to the West Village on December 8": "The wind of the December moon is warm and the spirit has already been spring, and when it was scattered, our neighbors had a chance to eat Laba Congee. There are many traces of cattle in the desert firewood door. Sick people need only medicine, and people who have not moved are idle. Today, Buddha porridge is more rewarding, and the village feels that things are new." The custom of eating Laba Congee is so popular that even generals on the battlefield or tourists on the journey want to eat Laba Congee on the day of Laba. Zhang Lei, one of the four scholars of Sumen, was on his way one year on Laba, braved heavy snow, but he was unable to make Laba Congee during the journey, so he was very sorry: "On the day of Laba, he borrowed a bowl to accept food. When the passengers were about to arrive late, they didn't cook in the morning." Zhao Wannian, the anti Jin general of the Southern Song Dynasty, was firmly guarding Xiangyang City when he met Laba Festival. He cooked Laba Congee in the city to reward the city guards. He wrote in a poem: "Don't pay the owner Congee, and know that Laba is today." If the Laba snow falls, the atmosphere will be festive. More will be added, and poets will also hold a "poetry conference". According to the "Yuhai" of the Southern Song Dynasty, in the early years of Chunhua, there was no snow for several consecutive winters. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the third year of Chunhua (992 AD), heavy snow finally fell on the capital city of Kaifeng, reaching a depth of over a foot. Emperor Taizong of Song was very pleased and set up a banquet for his courtiers in the Ministry of the Imperial Secretariat, and issued an edict: Enjoy yourselves today and do not return until you are drunk. When he was drunk and his ears were hot, the unfinished Song Emperor Taizong wrote another poem and personally transcribed it in clerical script, which was brought to the banquet by eunuchs around him for display. On the same day, Emperor Taizong of Song also hosted a banquet for three scholars in the Secret Pavilion. In the Song Dynasty, where poetry was flourishing, the gathering of scholars naturally included reciting poetry and composing essays. There were twenty-five people who were ordered to offer poetry on that day. In the Ming Dynasty, Laba noodles were eaten at the Laba "state banquet". In addition to Laba Congee, there was also the custom of eating Laba noodles. On the day of Laba, the court will hold a banquet for all officials at the Fengtian Gate (now Taihe Gate) in the Forbidden City. It may be that it is somewhat indecent to drink Congee at a national banquet. At the Laba banquet, the emperor rewarded Laba noodles. Wu Kuan, the top scholar of the Ming Dynasty, once attended the Laba Eight Nation Banquet with his colleagues. It was snowing and the weather was very cold, but he still felt very honored. After returning home, he wrote "Feast on the Laba Day": "It was ordered to send a long banquet to the Phoenix Pool, and the human festival sequence was nine fold known. The tradition of eating is true, and it is easy to obtain poetry by sitting with officials." However, Wu Kuan only expressed his feelings in the poem and did not specify which types of festival food he ate. The "Annals of the Ministry of Rites" compiled by Yu Ruji in the Ming Dynasty provided a detailed menu for the Laba Festival: "At the table, follow the four types of wine, four colors of dishes, one bowl of wax noodles, and three hours of wine; at the middle table, follow the four types of wine, four colors of dishes, two bowls of wax noodles, and six hours of wine." Depending on the rank, officials may sit at the table or the middle table, and the dishes served may vary. However, this bowl of "wax noodles" with a strong festive atmosphere is available on all tables and has the same taste. In some places in Guanzhong, Shaanxi Province, there is still a custom of eating Laba noodles on the morning of the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. I wonder if it is a continuation of the Ming Palace custom. During the Qing Dynasty, poets enjoyed holding winter gatherings on the day of Laba, known as the "Cold Relief Festival," to drink and compose poetry. There were two main programs at the meeting, one was to eat Laba Congee, and the other was to recite poems and compose poems. In the 18th year of the Qianlong reign (1753) on the Laba Festival, a friend of the poet Wang Youzeng sent a letter early on, inviting him to his Wei Chu Zhai gathering. Wang You once rode a donkey and hurriedly arrived along the frozen and slippery street. Along the way, he saw people of all ages and genders heading towards Shichahai to join in the excitement of the Bathing Buddha Festival; In the alley, the wax drums beat loudly, creating a strong festive atmosphere. In Weichu Zhai, he and his fellow townsmen in Beipiao ate Congee, drank wine, and wrote poems until late at night. Another Qing Dynasty poet, Quan Zuwang, once gathered with a group of poetry friends in the Vase Flower Studio on the morning of the Laba Festival. After drinking Congee, everyone played "couplets". Among them, there are sentences such as "The year is in a hurry, the snap of the finger suddenly reaches the end of the year" and "Bathing Buddha in Tokyo, the method of dispelling the cold for our generation", which point out the time and theme of this Laba dispelling cold meeting. In addition to his busy political affairs, Emperor Qianlong left behind many poems, among which the Laba Festival is related to the "Laba Snow", "Laba Chronicle", and "Laba Congee". In 1730, at the age of 20, Hongli wrote the twelve couplets of the long poem "Laba Day". After reviewing the origin of the Laba Festival, he described the materials and preparation of Laba Congee in the imperial palace: "Pine, hazel, jujube, apricot, walnut, millet, millet, sorghum, bean and bean are piled up. When water and fire are cooked in the cauldron, the sound of pine wind rises up in the ravine." Ten ingredients, such as pine, hazel, jujube, chestnut, tumble up and down in the cauldron, sounding like pines in the valley. It seems that the cooked Laba Congee also has the magical effect of helping to form a good sentence: "Just sip several bowls of Runshichang, and you can use new words to add excitement." (La News Agency)