In the very early times of Chinese history, Laba was used as a ritual to worship the ancestors and the gods such as Door God, House God, Kitchen God and Well God to wish for a better harvest next year and auspiciousness. It falls on the 12th month of China’s lunar year, and this month is called Layue. Year passed, giving sacrifices to gods and ancestors has turned to eating Laba Congee, a porridge which contains rice, beans, dried nuts, bean curd, meat or others.

This festival is not only regarded as a day of sacrifice, but also the day on which Sakyamuni (Gautama Buddha) realized truth and became the Buddha. Gautama Buddha was born in India when the people of that time suffered a lot from the harsh reality, and he wanted to save the people from suffering. Finally, he abandoned his rich life and walked into the jungle to seek the ways to get rid of suffering. He lived in the wild for six years when he only ate rice, and he became enlightened on the 8th day of the 12th lunar month. Thereafter, people ate rice porridge to commemorate him.

The custom first originated in the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) and became popular in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911). The ingredients of Laba Porridge are various items that are full of nutrition. It is made of diversified rice (glutinous rice, oats, corns etc.), beans (soy beans, mung beans, kidney beans, cowpeas etc.), dried nuts (chestnuts, almonds, peanuts, etc.), bean curd and meat. Now hundreds of different methods for cooking this porridge can be found across the nation.

Source: baike.baidu.com