What is Laba Festival? Who is Laba Festival commemorating?

What is Laba Festival? Who is Laba Festival commemorating?
Introduction: Laba Festival is an important traditional cultural festival of the Han nationality, and in fact the origin of Laba Festival is for commemoration. So what is Laba Festival? Who is Laba Festival commemorating? 2018 has just begun and the Year of the Rooster is coming to an end. What things should we pay attention to at the end of the year? The Fortune Teller website has prepared a lot of relevant content for you in the twelfth month of the lunar calendar special topic. Please feel free to check it out.

What is Laba Festival?

Laba Festival, commonly known as "Laba", is the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. The ancients had the tradition of worshiping their ancestors and gods and praying for a good harvest and good luck. In some areas, there is a custom of drinking Laba porridge. According to legend, this day is the day when Buddha Shakyamuni attained enlightenment, and is called the "Dharma Treasure Festival", which is one of the grand festivals in Buddhism.
The month at the end of the year is called "La", which has three meanings: one is "La means to connect", which implies the alternation of the old and the new (recorded in "Book of Sui·Rituals"); the second is "La means hunting", which refers to hunting to obtain animals for offering sacrifices to ancestors and gods, and "La" is written on the side of "meat", which means using meat for "winter sacrifice"; the third is "La means to drive away epidemics and welcome spring", Laba Festival is also called "Buddha's Enlightenment Festival", also known as "Enlightenment Meeting", in fact it can be said that the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is the origin of La Day.

Who is Laba Festival commemorating?

Origin
The custom of eating Laba porridge on Laba Festival originated in India and is related to Sakyamuni, the founder of ancient Indian Buddhism. Legend has it that Sakyamuni practiced asceticism for six years before attaining enlightenment. During these six years, he only ate one grain of hemp and one grain of rice every day. One day, while bathing in the river, he ate the gruel given by the shepherdess Sujata, and attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. Chyle is milk porridge, which is said to be the predecessor of Laba porridge. Later, in order to commemorate Sakyamuni and thank the shepherdess, Sakyamuni's disciples would go to the streets to beg for alms with bowls in their hands on the Laba Day every year. They would cook the rice, dates, etc. they begged into porridge and distribute it to the hungry people.
Origin 2
There is another theory about the origin of eating Laba porridge on Laba Festival. It is said that a long time ago, the son of Zhuanxu, one of the five ancient emperors, turned into a fierce ghost after committing a crime, and liked to come out on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month to scare children. Under the prayers of the people, Nuwa, the goddess of blessing the country, told an old lady in a dream that on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, she should feed her children porridge made with red beans and adzuki beans, so that evil spirits would not invade them. This kind of porridge is what we call Laba porridge.
Origin three
There is also a story about eating Laba porridge on Laba Festival, and it has a lot to do with Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. It is said that Zhu Yuanzhang's family was relatively poor when he was a child, and he made a living by herding cattle for a wealthy family. Once, when Zhu Yuanzhang was returning from herding cattle, the cattle accidentally slipped and fell off a bridge, breaking its leg. When the old rich man found out, he beat Zhu Yuanzhang severely and locked him in the woodshed without allowing him to eat. However, Zhu Yuanzhang found a rat hole in the woodshed and found rice, beans, red dates, etc. in it. He was smart and cooked all these things together, and they tasted especially delicious. Later, when Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he remembered this incident and asked the imperial chef to cook it again. That day happened to be the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
Summary: Through the above article content we know about [What festival is Laba Festival? Who is Laba Festival commemorating? 】Problem analysis, hope it can help everyone!

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