Laba Festival

Origins and history

In ancient times, the twelfth lunar month was known as La, a period set aside for sacrificial offerings to ancestors and eight deities to seek health, safety, and fruitful crops. When Buddhism entered China around the first century CE, the celebration became intertwined with the story of Sakyamuni reaching enlightenment after accepting a bowl of porridge. During the Northern and Southern dynasties, authorities fixed the festival on the eighth day of the twelfth month. Later, during the Qing dynasty, major official rites took place at the Yonghe Temple in Beijing, establishing customs that endured across generations.

Eight-treasure porridge

The central culinary custom of the day is making and eating Laba congee, also known as eight-treasure congee. Monasteries originally prepared the warm gruel for local people to honour the Buddha, and today families cook it at home for winter wellbeing. True to its name, the porridge typically includes eight or more lucky elements. Recipes vary by region, blending grains like rice, barley, and millet with legumes such as mung and azuki beans. Cooks also add walnuts, peanuts, chestnuts, lotus seeds, dried longan, goji berries, and red dates, or even vegetables and meats.

Garlic, dumplings and local rites

In northern regions, households prepare Laba garlic by steeping whole cloves in vinegar. The jars remain sealed until Chinese New Year roughly three weeks later, when the pickled garlic and infused vinegar are served alongside freshly made dumplings. This custom carries practical symbolism: the word for garlic sounds identical to the word for calculating, reminding traders to balance their financial records before year's end. Other local customs survive as well, such as in Xinhua in Hunan, where residents beat traditional drums to ward off illness through rites rooted in ancient ritual practices.

How Laba Festival is kept

Observance begins in the kitchen early on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Families simmer large pots of multi-grain congee packed with nuts, beans, and dried fruits, sharing warm bowls at home or receiving them from Buddhist temples. In the north, cooks peel garlic cloves and submerge them in vinegar jars to ferment until the new year. Some communities hold drum ceremonies to chase away sickness, while temple visitors attend commemorative services that echo centuries of Buddhist and ancestral reverence.

When and where

The festival takes place on the eighth day of the twelfth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, called Layue. It arrives about three weeks before Chinese New Year, serving as the traditional starting point for the broader winter holiday season.

Laba is observed widely throughout China. Congee traditions appear across the country, while garlic pickling is especially common in northern provinces, and drum rituals remain preserved in areas such as Xinhua in Hunan.

What Laba Festival means

The festival blends Buddhist devotion with older hopes for winter safety and prosperity. The number eight is considered fortunate, reflected both in the date and the eight or more ingredients gathered for the congee. Steeping garlic represents accounting and balancing one's debts, while the warm porridge offers vitality during the cold months, symbolising nourishment, peace, and abundance for the coming agricultural cycle.

On the table

• Laba congee
• Laba garlic
• Dumplings

Flavours: Garlic

Days Laba Festival is marked

Laba Festival dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

Questions people ask about Laba Festival

See also

NowruzThe Iranian new year at the March equinox, kept with fire, greenery and picnicsMid-Autumn FestivalAn annual harvest festival celebrating family reunions, full moons and mooncakesBuddha's BirthdayA festival marking the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, observed across Asia with temple rituals and community gatherings.SabantuyA summer festival of folk sports and feasting celebrated by Tatar, Bashkir, Chuvash, and Kazakh communities.

Good reading and sources

• Laba Festival on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.