The Laba Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar Chinese calendar. "La" is the name given to the 12th lunar month and 8 is pronounced as "ba" in Chinese, which translated is "Laba." There are several legends about the origin of this festivity and we could not tell which one is true. But what we know today is that this festival started as a sacrificial offering to ancestors. It was also a time for the ancient Chinese to pray to heaven and earth that there would be a bountiful harvest. Many people hoped for good luck as well for the coming year.
農歷十二月初八是中國的傳統節日——臘八節，臘代表中國農歷的十二月，而八是eight的發音，因此，這個節日被翻譯成臘八。關于臘八起源的傳說有很多，我們已經不能辨其真假。時至今日，我們確定的是這個節日起初是為了祭祀祖先，祈求豐收以及為即將來到的一年祈福。

Traditionally, the Laba rice porridge is the most important element of the festival. Generally, the porridge contains eight ingredients which can include glutinous rice, red beans, millet, Chinese sorghum, peas, dried lotus seeds and some other ingredients, such as dried dates, chestnut meat, walnut meat, almond, peanut, etc. The porridge must be boiled for many hours and then offered as a sacrifice to the ancestors. This must be done before noontime. Also, it is tradition that family members eat the porridge together. Then they leave some as a symbol of hope for a good harvest the coming year.
從傳統上講，臘八粥是臘八節最重要的元素。臘八粥通常由八種材料做成，這些材料可以是黏米，紅豆，小米，高粱，豌豆，蓮子和一些諸如紅棗，栗子，核桃仁，杏仁，花生等谷物。粥要熬制數小時，然后作為祭品祭獻給祖先。這個祭祀活動一定要在中午之前完成。之后，家人們坐在一起吃臘八粥也就成了傳

Another custom is the soaking of Laba garlic. Garlic is soaked in vinegar for more than twenty days starting from Laba festival. Then when the Chinese New Year comes, the garlic and vinegar is used alongside jiaozi on the table.
臘八節的另一傳統式腌制臘八蒜。從臘八節那天起，就將蒜泡在醋中二十多天，這樣，到春節的時候，就可以在餐桌上與餃子同食了。