The Laba Festival, the day in most parts of China have the custom of eating Laba porridge. Laba is a harvest year with eight fresh food and fruits boiled, usually for the sweet porridge. The Central Plains have many farmers prefer salty to eat Laba porridge, porridge in addition to rice, millet, mung bean, cowpea, peanut, jujube and other raw materials, but also add pork, radish, cabbage, vermicelli, seaweed, tofu and so on.

　　臘八節(jié)這天我國大多數(shù)地區(qū)都有吃臘八粥的習(xí)俗。臘八粥是用八種當年收獲的新鮮糧食和瓜果煮成，一般都為甜味粥。而中原地區(qū)的許多農(nóng)家卻喜歡吃臘八咸粥，粥內(nèi)除大米、小米、綠豆、豇豆、花生、大棗等原料外，還要加肉絲、蘿卜、白菜、粉條、海帶、豆腐等。

　　Laba Festival, the original ancient harvest celebrations, thanks to ancestors and gods (including the goalkeeper, household God, house of God, Kitchen God, well God) rituals, in addition to worship ancestors the activities, but also by people infected. This activity comes from the ancient Nuo (avoid the outbreak of the ancient ceremony of exorcism.) One way to prehistoric times, the exorcism of medical treatment illness. The activities of the twelfth lunar month as the witchcraft epidemic of custom drum drive, this and other areas in Hunan is still retained Xinhua. Later evolved into a commemoration of the Buddha Sakyamuni Road religious holiday. Xia said the December date, "Ka-ping," Shang was "clear Si", Zhou as "big wax"; due to be held in December, it said the month is the twelfth lunar month, known as La La at the festival that day. Pre wax at the third after the winter solstice Xu day fixed in the twelfth lunar month before the Northern and Southern started eighth day.

　　臘八節(jié)原自古代歡慶豐收、感謝祖先和神靈(包括門神、戶神、宅神、灶神、井神)的祭祀儀式，除祭祖敬神的活動外，人們還要逐疫。這項活動來源于古代的儺(古代驅(qū)鬼避疫的儀式)。史前時代的醫(yī)療方法之一即驅(qū)鬼治疾。作為巫術(shù)活動的臘月?lián)艄尿?qū)疫之俗，今在湖南新化等地區(qū)仍有留存。后演化成紀念佛祖釋伽牟尼成道的宗教節(jié)日。夏代稱臘日為“嘉平”，商代為“清祀”，周代為“大蠟”;因在十二月舉行，故稱該月為臘月，稱臘祭這一天為臘日。先秦的臘日在冬至后的第三個戌日，南北朝開始才固定在臘月初八。

　　"Said the text" contains: "Shu at December after the winter solstice festival three hundred gods." Visible, Shu third day after the winter solstice was December day. Buddhism after the intervention of the Prince at eighth day in December changed since then Xiangyan into the vulgar.

　　《說文》載：“冬至后三戍日臘祭百神。”可見，冬至后第三個戍日曾是臘日。后由于佛教介入，臘日改在十二月初八，自此相沿成俗。