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.
腊八节的由来有两个传说。一说佛祖释迦牟尼成佛前进山修行.十二月初八这天因饥饿劳累栽倒路旁， 被一牧羊女发现，用大米粥救活，使他大彻大悟，得道成佛。一说，明朝皇帝朱元璋小时给财主放牛，因牛腿摔断被财主关在一间屋子里，3天没给饭吃， 他饥饿难忍.到处搜寻.终于发现了一个老鼠洞，从中挖掘出豆、谷等各种粮食，煮成粥食用，觉得非常香甜。
后来朱元璋做了皇帝，想起小时候吃那顿粥 的味道，就命太监用各种粮食煮了一锅糖粥，欢宴群臣，后朝中文武百官争相效仿并传入民间，遂成了一种节日习俗。因朱元璋吃糖粥的日子是腊月初八， 所以这粥也就叫"腊八粥"了
“腊八”是佛教的盛大节日。解放以前各地佛寺作浴佛会，举行诵经，并效仿释迦牟尼成道前， 牧女献乳糜的传说故事，用香谷、果实等煮粥供佛，称“腊八粥”。并将腊八粥赠送给门徒及善男信女们，以后便在民间相沿成俗。据说有的寺院于腊 月初八以前由僧人手持钵盂，沿街化缘，将收集来的米、栗、枣、果仁等材料煮成腊八粥散发给穷人 传说吃了以后可以得到佛祖的保佑，所以穷人把它叫做“佛粥”。南宋陆游诗云：“今朝佛粥更相馈，反觉江村节物新。”据说杭州名刹天宁寺内有储藏剩饭的“栈饭楼”平时寺僧每日把剩饭晒干， 积一年的余粮，到腊月初八煮成腊八粥分赠信徒，称为“福寿粥”“福德粥”意思是说吃了以后可以增福增寿。可见当时各寺僧爱惜粮食之美德。