The Laba Festival

濟南五中 龍菲

臘八節，俗稱“臘八”。古人有祭祀祖先和神靈、祈求豐收吉祥的傳統。如今，一些地區有喝臘八粥、吃臘八蒜的習俗。俗話說：“過了臘八就是年。”讓我們一起來了解下這個節日吧！

The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is commonly known as the Laba Festival.The festival has been regarded as a1)prelude [?prelju?d] n.前奏；序幕preludeto the Lunar New Year.From the day on,people begin to sweep houses,make offerinɡs to the Kitchen God,buy pictures for the New Year,attend street fairs and write Spring Festival couplets.The atmosphere of the New Year is getting stronger and stronger.Now,let’s learn about the customs of the Laba Festival.

The Laba Festival,also simply called “Laba”.The festival has this name because the twelfth month is also called “la” month in Chinese while the number eiɡht is pronounced “ba”.Since it’s the last festival before the Lunar New Year,the festival2)imply [?m?pla?] v.意味著impliessaying goodbye to the old and embracing the new.It is often regarded as a warm-up celebration for the upcoming Spring Festival.As an old sayinɡ ɡoes,“After Laba,it’s the (Chinese) New Year.”

One of the festival’s traditions is to offer sacrifices to the ancestors.In the3)agrarian [??ɡre?ri?n] adj.土地的；耕地的agrariansocieties of ancient times,this worship was a prayer for good luck and a4)bountiful [?ba?nt?fl ] adj.豐富的bountifulharvest.It was also an important ritual for emperors in those times,who would hold grand sacrificial fetes in the winter to show their appreciation to nature and their ancestors.Those ancient activities could be interpreted as a reflection of “Xiao”(filial piety),“Ren” (5)benevolence [b??nev?l?ns] n.慈善；仁慈benevolenceand love) and “Yi” (6)righteousness ['ra?t??sn?s] n.正義righteousness)in Confucian values.Nowadays,the rituals tend to be less formal.People offer sacrifices now more to memorialize family members who have passed away.

The tradition to have Laba congee on this day dates back more than a thousand years and is still a major part of Laba in many places.

In northern China,it’s also popular to make Laba garlic.People usually put peeled garlic cloves into a container with vinegar and then seal it up.During the pickling process,the garlic will turn green.It is a typical side dish to have with dumplings during the Spring Festival.In northwest China,some residents in Shaanxi Province eat Laba noodles for the festival.In places like Anhui in east China,people will eat Laba tofu.These local customs7)vary [?ve?ri] v.（根據情況而）變化；改變varybased on location and climate and are intended to help people overcome the winter cold and prevent illness.

農歷十二月初八，俗稱“臘八節”。臘八節一直被人們視為農歷新年的前奏。從這天起，人們開始打掃房屋、祭灶、買年畫、趕集、寫春聯，新年的氣氛越來越濃厚。現在，我們一起來了解一下臘八節的相關習俗。

臘八節俗稱“臘八”，這是因為農歷十二月被稱為“臘月”，而數字八的發音為“ba”。由于它是農歷新年前的最后一個節日，所以意味著辭舊迎新已經開始。臘八節是即將到來的春節的熱身節慶。俗話說：“過了臘八就是年。”

臘八節的傳統之一是祭祀祖先。在古代的農耕社會，這種祭拜活動被用來祈求來年的豐收和好運。對于當時的皇帝來說，這也是一種重要的儀式，他們會在冬季舉行盛大的祭祀活動，以表達對自然和祖先的感激。這些古老的活動體現了儒家價值觀中的“孝”“仁”和“義”。如今，這些儀式往往不那么正式了。現在，人們祭祀更多的是為了紀念已故的親人。

在這一天吃臘八粥的傳統可以追溯到一千多年前，至今在許多地方，這仍是臘八節一項的重要活動。

在中國北方，做臘八蒜也很受歡迎。人們通常將去皮的蒜瓣放入裝有醋的容器中，然后將其密封。在腌制過程中，大蒜會變綠。這是春節期間餃子的典型配菜。在中國西北部，陜西人在節日期間吃臘八面。在中國東部的安徽等地，人們會吃臘八豆腐。這些習俗因各地的地理和氣候而異，但目的都是幫助人們克服冬季寒冷、預防疾病。

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臘日

[唐]杜甫

臘日常年暖尚遙，今年臘日凍全消。

侵凌雪色還萱草，漏泄春光有柳條。

縱酒欲謀良夜醉，還家初散紫宸朝。

口脂面藥隨恩澤，翠管銀嬰下九霄。

The La Festival

Stephen Owen

On the La Festival in ordinary years warm weather is still far away,

this year on the La Festival the ice has entirely melted.

Subduing the color of snow the yellow daylily returns,

in the light of spring leaking through there are fronds of willows.

To have ale as I please I will plan a good night to get drunk,

I return home,having just concluded dawn court at Zichen Palace.

A chap-balm for lips and face cream came with imperial grace,

in an azure tube and silver ewer descendinɡ from the nine-tiered heavens.