Laba Festival there are two legendary origin. Buddha Sakyamuni Buddha said that a move mountain cultivation. December eighth day that day because of hunger and fatigue Zaidao street, was a shepherdess found with large gruel saved so that he Dachedawu. Enlightenment and Buddha. One said that the Ming emperor Zhu Yuan-hour cattle to the rich because the rich bracket was broken off in a room, three days did not give anything to eat, he was unbearable hunger. Searched everywhere. Finally found a rat hole, dig out the beans, grain and other food, Zhu Chengyu consumption, find it very sweet.
Later, the emperor made the emperor, thinking a child eat porridge and that the taste of Dayton, he ordered his eunuchs to use a variety of food cooked up a pot of sugar porridge, feast courtiers, after North Korea Wenwubaiguan emulated and passed civil society, Sui Cheng A holiday customs. By Zhu Yuan sugar porridge eighth day of the days of the twelfth lunar month, so this porridge is also called "laba porridge" of
"Laba" is a grand festival of Buddhism. Before the liberation around the temple for Buddha's Birthday will be held prayers, and, like the Buddha into the Road, before the story of The Legend of chylous Munv Xian, with fragrant valley, fruit, etc. porridge worship Buddha, called "laba porridge." Laba porridge and will be presented to the disciples and the believers, it would be in civil Xiangyan into the vulgar. Some monasteries in the twelfth lunar month is said to eighth day before the hand-held by the monks alms bowl, street alms, will be collected rice, chestnuts, dates, nuts and other ingredients laba porridge distributed to the poor
After eating legend could be the Buddha's blessing, so poor, it is called the "Buddha congee." Southern Song Dynasty, Lu You a poem that goes: "at the present Buddha congee is more relative to feed, and anti-sense Emura a new section of material." Hangzhou temples temple is said to store leftovers within a "stack of rice floor," usually every day the monks leftovers dried, plot a years of surplus grain to the lunar calendar laba porridge boiled eighth day he gave copies to his followers, known as "Fu-zhou" "Ford porridge," which means that after eating you can Zengfu Zengshou. It is obvious that the monks cherish the virtues of food.
臘八節(jié)的由來有兩個傳說。一說佛祖釋迦牟尼成佛前進山修行.十二月初八這天因饑餓勞累栽倒路旁， 被一牧羊女發(fā)現(xiàn)，用大米粥救活，使他大徹大悟，得道成佛。一說，明朝皇帝朱元璋小時給財主放牛，因牛腿摔斷被財主關在一間屋子里，3天沒給飯吃， 他饑餓難忍.到處搜尋.終于發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個老鼠洞，從中挖掘出豆、谷等各種糧食，煮成粥食用，覺得非常香甜。
后來朱元璋做了皇帝，想起小時候吃那頓粥 的味道，就命太監(jiān)用各種糧食煮了一鍋糖粥，歡宴群臣，后朝中文武百官爭相效仿并傳入民間，遂成了一種節(jié)日習俗。因朱元璋吃糖粥的日子是臘月初八， 所以這粥也就叫"臘八粥"了
“臘八”是佛教的盛大節(jié)日。解放以前各地佛寺作浴佛會，舉行誦經(jīng)，并效仿釋迦牟尼成道前， 牧女獻乳糜的傳說故事，用香谷、果實等煮粥供佛，稱“臘八粥”。并將臘八粥贈送給門徒及善男信女們，以后便在民間相沿成俗。據(jù)說有的寺院于臘 月初八以前由僧人手持缽盂，沿街化緣，將收集來的米、栗、棗、果仁等材料煮成臘八粥散發(fā)給窮人
傳說吃了以后可以得到佛祖的保佑，所以窮人把它叫做“佛粥”。南宋陸游詩云：“今朝佛粥更相饋，反覺江村節(jié)物新。”據(jù)說杭州名剎天寧寺內有儲藏剩飯的“棧飯樓”平時寺僧每日把剩飯曬干， 積一年的余糧，到臘月初八煮成臘八粥分贈信徒，稱為“福壽粥”“福德粥”意思是說吃了以后可以增福增壽。可見當時各寺僧愛惜糧食之美德。
臘八節(jié)的食物
臘八蒜
臘八蒜就是在陰歷臘月初八的這天來泡制蒜，是北方，尤其是華北地區(qū)的一個習俗。其材料就是醋和大蒜瓣兒。
吃冰
臘八前一天，人們一般用鋼盆舀水結冰，等到了臘八節(jié)就脫盆冰并把冰敲成碎塊。據(jù)說這天的冰很神奇，吃了它在以后一年不會肚子疼。
臘八豆腐
“臘八豆腐”是安徽黔縣民間風味特產(chǎn)，在春節(jié)前夕的臘八，即農(nóng)歷十二月初八前后，黔縣家家戶戶都要曬制豆腐，民間將這種自然曬制的豆腐稱作“臘八豆腐”。
臘八面
中國北方一些不產(chǎn)或少產(chǎn)大米的地方，人們不吃臘八粥，而是吃臘八面。隔天用各種果、蔬做成臊子，把面條搟好，到臘月初八早晨全家吃臘八面。