Laba Festival there are two legendary origin. Buddha Sakyamuni Buddha said that a move mountain cultivation. December eighth day that day because of hunger and fatigue Zaidao street, was a shepherdess found with large gruel saved so that he Dachedawu. Enlightenment and Buddha. One said that the Ming emperor Zhu Yuan-hour cattle to the rich because the rich bracket was broken off in a room, three days did not give anything to eat, he was unbearable hunger. Searched everywhere. Finally found a rat hole, dig out the beans, grain and other food, Zhu Chengyu consumption, find it very sweet.
Later, the emperor made the emperor, thinking a child eat porridge and that the taste of Dayton, he ordered his eunuchs to use a variety of food cooked up a pot of sugar porridge, feast courtiers, after North Korea Wenwubaiguan emulated and passed civil society, Sui Cheng A holiday customs. By Zhu Yuan sugar porridge eighth day of the days of the twelfth lunar month, so this porridge is also called "laba porridge" of
"Laba" is a grand festival of Buddhism. Before the liberation around the temple for Buddha's Birthday will be held prayers, and, like the Buddha into the Road, before the story of The Legend of chylous Munv Xian, with fragrant valley, fruit, etc. porridge worship Buddha, called "laba porridge." Laba porridge and will be presented to the disciples and the believers, it would be in civil Xiangyan into the vulgar. Some monasteries in the twelfth lunar month is said to eighth day before the hand-held by the monks alms bowl, street alms, will be collected rice, chestnuts, dates, nuts and other ingredients laba porridge distributed to the poor
After eating legend could be the Buddha's blessing, so poor, it is called the "Buddha congee." Southern Song Dynasty, Lu You a poem that goes: "at the present Buddha congee is more relative to feed, and anti-sense Emura a new section of material." Hangzhou temples temple is said to store leftovers within a "stack of rice floor," usually every day the monks leftovers dried, plot a years of surplus grain to the lunar calendar laba porridge boiled eighth day he gave copies to his followers, known as "Fu-zhou" "Ford porridge," which means that after eating you can Zengfu Zengshou. It is obvious that the monks cherish the virtues of food.
臘八節的由來有兩個傳說。一說佛祖釋迦牟尼成佛前進山修行.十二月初八這天因飢餓勞累栽倒路旁， 被一牧羊女發現，用大米粥救活，使他大徹大悟，得道成佛。一說，明朝皇帝朱元璋小時給財主放牛，因牛腿摔斷被財主關在一間屋子裏，3天沒給飯吃， 他飢餓難忍.到處搜尋.終于發現了一個老鼠洞，從中挖掘出豆、谷等各種糧食，煮成粥食用，覺得非常香甜。
後來朱元璋做了皇帝，想起小時候吃那頓粥 的味道，就命太監用各種糧食煮了一鍋糖粥，歡宴群臣，後朝中文武百官爭相效仿並傳入民間，遂成了一種節日習俗。因朱元璋吃糖粥的日子是臘月初八， 所以這粥也就叫"臘八粥"了
“臘八”是佛教的盛大節日。解放以前各地佛寺作浴佛會，舉行誦經，並效仿釋迦牟尼成道前， 牧女獻乳糜的傳說故事，用香谷、果實等煮粥供佛，稱“臘八粥”。並將臘八粥贈送給門徒及善男信女們，以後便在民間相沿成俗。據說有的寺院于臘 月初八以前由僧人手持缽盂，沿街化緣，將收集來的米、傈、棗、果仁等材料煮成臘八粥散發給窮人
傳說吃了以後可以得到佛祖的保佑，所以窮人把它叫做“佛粥”。南宋陸遊詩雲：“今朝佛粥更相饋，反覺江村節物新。”據說杭州名剎天寧寺內有儲藏剩飯的“堆飯樓”平時寺僧每日把剩飯曬幹， 積一年的餘糧，到臘月初八煮成臘八粥分贈信徒，稱為“福壽粥”“福德粥”意思是說吃了以後可以增福增壽。可見當時各寺僧愛惜糧食之美德。