The rice porridge with nuts and dried fruit
In Chinese, Laba means 'gold eighth' and refers to the traditional start of celebrations for the Chinese New Year - the eighth day of the last lunar month.

On this day a special hot rice porridge, called Laba Zhou, is eaten, which contains glutinous rice, red beans, millet, Chinese sorghum, peas and some other ingredients, such as dried dates, chestnut meat, walnut meat, almond, peanut, dried lotus seeds and etc. On the previous night, people will begin the preparation and stew the porridge at about midnight. It won't let out an attractive smell until the next morning. The flavor varies from place to place, in the North, it is a dessert with sugar added; in the South, salt and seasonal vegetables are put in.

This tradition has its roots in the Buddhist faith. It is said when Sakyamuni left home and strived for virtue, he fainted on the way because of hunger and tiredness. A shepherdess passing by saved him and cooked for him some porridge with glutinous rice and nuts. Then Sakyamuni sat under a bodhi tree in meditation and found Buddhism. So later the believers formed the habit of cooking Laba Zhou to commemorate it.

There is another interesting story about Laba Zhou. In the past there was a man who led a wasteful life and eventually he ran out of food one winter. His neighbor gave him the grain he dumped before and cooked the porridge. Afterwards eating Laba Zhou is to teach children thrift in managing household.

Another custom is to prepare Laba vinegar for Jiaozi on the New Year Eve. People will skin some garlic and put them in the vinegar. It will have a distinctive flavor with time passing by.

Days before the New Year, every family is busy giving its house a thorough cleaning, hoping to sweep away all the ill fortune to make way for the in-coming good luck. People also give their doors and windowpanes a new paint, usually in red color. They decorate the doors and windows with paper-cuts and couplets with the very popular theme of "happiness", "wealth", "longevity" and "satisfactory marriage with more children."

On the 24th day of the last lunar month sacrifices are to be offered to the Kitchen God, for he returns to heaven to give a report to the Jade Emperor (which is the ruler of heaven in Chinese mythology) about the family's activities over the past year. This day is marked by acts of appeasement to the Kitchen god so that he will give a favorable report. Traditionally images of the Kitchen god are burned as a symbolic act of departure. From the 24th the Kitchen god will be absent from his shrine in the kitchen, and during this time it will be cleaned in preparation for his return on New Year's Eve.

During the build up to Chinese New Year Gate Gods are placed on the external doors of houses. This is a tradition can be dated back to the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD). The legend says two generals, Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong, stood guard against ghosts outside the Emperor Taizong's bedroom. In the eagerness to share the protection of these 'Gate Gods' the common people made their paintings and placed them on doors. The tradition has continued ever since.

The Eve of the New Year is very carefully observed. Supper is a feast, with all members coming together. Light will be kept on the whole night. At midnight, fireworks will light up the whole sky and firecrackers make everywhere seem like a war zone. People's excitement reaches its climax.

Very early the next morning, children greet their parents and receive their lucky money in red packets. The symbolic giving of the money represents a wish for fortune in the coming year. Then, the family starts out to say greetings from door to door, first to their relatives and then their neighbors. During and several days following the New Year's day, people are visiting each other, with a great deal of exchange of gifts. The New Year atmosphere is brought to an anti-climax fifteen days away when the Lantern Festival sets in. It is an occasion of lantern shows and folk dance everywhere. One typical food is the Tang Yuan, a kind of dumplings made of sweet rice rolled into balls and stuffed with sweet fillings.

The Lantern Festival marks the end of the New Year season and afterwards life becomes daily routines again. Yet, the spirit underlying is the same: a sincere wish of peace and happiness for the family members and friends.

more article