臘八節的儀式感

齊月

“小孩小孩你別饞，過了臘八就是年。”

到了農歷臘月初八，濟南的年味兒就愈發得濃了。熬臘八粥、腌臘八蒜是“過臘八”的重頭戲，也是不可或缺的儀式感。

關于吃臘八粥，民間有不少傳說。一說釋迦牟尼在臘八節這天吃了牧羊姑娘煮的粥在菩提樹下得道成佛，后世信佛的人每到這天就會舉行誦經活動，并煮粥供佛，施粥惠眾；一說明朝朱元璋在當皇帝之前，曾將乞討來的各色米豆混在一起熬粥食用，人們認為食用這種粥能帶來好運。往年臘八節這天，千佛山興國禪寺、崇明寺都有奉送臘八粥的傳統，清晨一大早，市民便會排起長長的隊伍等待舍粥，圖一份節日里的吉祥如意。

臘八粥的選料和熬制都很有講究。明水香稻、吳家堡黃河大米、龍山小米是濟南人的優選，再配上糯米、紫米、紅豆、綠豆、紅棗、花生、葡萄干等進行浸泡。熬粥的水若是清冽甘甜的泉水則更好，先大火煮開，再文火慢慢熬制，民間曾有“千日撿柴，不夠一餐臘八粥”之俗語，由此可見臘八粥熬制的時間之長。

除了熬臘八粥，腌臘八蒜也是“過臘八”的標配。人們會將剝了皮的蒜瓣洗凈控干水分，依次放入無水無油的容器中，再倒入沒過蒜的醋，密封放置兩周左右，便能收獲通體碧綠、色如翡翠的臘八蒜。臘八蒜無論是單吃還是配菜都很不錯，濟南人多愛用來配小年、除夕、初一的餃子，消食又解膩。

With the New Years festivities still in the air， the Chinese are gearing up for some traditional celebrations， starting with the Laba Festival. Main traditions for the festival are eating Laba porridge and making Laba garlic.

Laba porridge usually contains glutinous rice， wheat， corn， dried dates， lotus seeds， peanuts， loongan meat， red beans， peas， millet， raisins and some other ingredients. It is mostly made with eight ingredients and boiled with the spring water in Jinan. As the beans is hard to boil， its better to soak them for hours before boiling.

Making Laba garlic on the Laba Festival is a custom in Jinan. The ingredients are garlic and vinegar. After peeling the garlic and putting it in a jar and filling it with vinegar， the rest time is to wait. Almost two weeks later， the garlic will become green. People in Jinan usually eat it together with the dumplings on the Spring Festival Eve.