Laba Stew Festival – Holidays All Year Round

Laba Garlic 腊八蒜

The 8th of the twelfth lunar month––or this year, January 21–– is known as the Laba Festival, Labajie. While we last year covered the rich bean porridge that often masquerades the breakfast table, a lesser known but highly superstitious delicacy includes jade garlics, aka Laba garlics. Laba Festival precedes Chinese New Year because the temperatureContinue reading “Laba Garlic 腊八蒜”

Laba Stew 腊八粥 for the Famished

In Chinese, Laba means ‘gold eighth’ which refers to the commencement of Chinese New Year celebrations on the eighth day of the last lunar month. Rooted in the Buddhist faith, the festival is believed to rise and flourish from the stew of religious Sakyamuni. Abandoning home to strive for virtue, the passionate man fainted fromContinue reading “Laba Stew 腊八粥 for the Famished”