Free Laba Porridge in Beijing

Free Laba Porridge was served in Beijing Yonghegong Lama Temple this morning.

The Laba Festival is a traditional Chinese festival celebrated on the eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar Chinese calendar. In China, it is customary on this day to eat Laba Porridge.

The lamas of Yonghegong Lama Temple serve free Laba Porridge to visitors every year on this date. And there is always a long line of people waiting to indulge.

According to literature, the lamas of Yonghegong Lama Temple would begin making porridge on Dec 1 of the Lunar Calendar and they would provide free Laba porridge for believers on Dec 8. The monks would also pray around the porridge boilers. Tthough every family would prepare the porridge by themselves, some prefer to get some from the Lama Temple for good luck. Later, providing free Laba porridge became an important Laba tradition.

Before the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), Laba Festival was a celebration of the new harvest. After Buddhism spread to China during the first century AD, the festival was used as commemoration of Gautama Buddha's enlightenment at the age of 35. In the Qing dynasty, ceremonies for the Laba festival were held in the Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing.

Slideshow: Laba Festival

Video: Sun Peng
Reporter: Zhang Juan
Photography: Wu Chuanjing
Producer: Flora Yue