Next: 15 Jan 2027
Laba Festival
The eighth of the twelfth month: Buddhists remember the Buddha's enlightenment with a sweet, many-grain porridge.
When is Laba Festival in 2027?
Laba Festival 2027 is on Friday, 15 January 2027. Other years: 2026, Monday, 26 January 2026; 2028, Tuesday, 4 January 2028.
About Laba Festival
Laba, on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, marks, according to Chinese Buddhist tradition, the day on which Siddhartha became the Buddha. Temples cook a porridge from rice, millet, beans, red dates, lotus seeds, walnuts and other grains and nuts and offer it to worshippers. Families make it at home too, sharing it with neighbours and relatives. In the north of China, garlic soaked in vinegar, Laba garlic, turns a jade green and is kept for dumplings at New Year. The day is also the start of the countdown to Lunar New Year, when families begin to buy supplies and clean the house. In Korea and Japan the Buddha's enlightenment is also observed at about this time.
Laba Festival dates: 2026, 2027, 2028
| Year | Laba Festival date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Monday, 26 January 2026 |
| 2027 | Friday, 15 January 2027 |
| 2028 | Tuesday, 4 January 2028 |
What is eaten
- laba porridge
- laba garlic
Traditions of Laba Festival
Also part of it, and being written: Laba porridge (The many-ingredient congee.), Laba garlic (The vinegar-pickled garlic of the north.).
More marked on Laba Festival
🇨🇳 Beijing, China and 1 moreLaba congee腊八粥
A ceremonial Chinese porridge of rice, beans and dried fruit, eaten at the Laba FestivalTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Laba Festival" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Bodhi Day: Shirazibustan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Laba congee: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source