腊八节是什么节？
What is the Laba Festival?
Name: ________________ Date: ________
冬天的北京，天还没亮，雍和宫门外已经排起了长队。天气格外寒冷，可是大家一点儿也不着急，一边说话一边等。他们在等什么呢？答案是一碗热的粥。原来，这一天是农历腊月初八，也就是腊八节。
“腊八”的“腊”，指的是腊月，也就是农历一年中的最后一个月；“八”就是这个月的第八天。很早以前，人们在年底要感谢这一年的好收成，也希望下一年一切平安。后来，佛教传到了中国，又给这个节日带来了一个故事：传说佛祖在这一天喝了一碗粥，然后明白了人生的道理。因此，很多寺庙会在这天煮粥，免费送给大家。两百多年前，雍和宫送的粥就已经很有名了。如今，这个传统依然保留着。
那么，这一碗里到底有什么？其实没有标准答案。米、花生、红枣……每家放的材料往往不一样，不过一般至少有八种。有人开玩笑说，这就像把家里能找到的粮食都放进了一个锅里。慢慢煮上几个小时，它就变得又甜又香，味道十分丰富。在冬天的早上喝上一碗，全身都暖和了。
在中国北方，这一天还有一件事要做：泡蒜。把大蒜放进醋里，然后放在凉快的地方。过二十多天，白色的蒜会逐渐变成漂亮的绿色。到了除夕晚上，全家人吃饺子的时候，正好拿出来一起吃。为什么是蒜呢？有一种说法是，“蒜”和“算”的声音一样，而年底正是算一算这一年赚了多少钱、花了多少钱的时候。
人们常说：“过了腊八就是年。”腊八节一到，离春节就只有三个星期左右了。人们开始打扫房子、买年货，空气里也慢慢有了过年的味道。所以，如果你在冬天看到很多人排队等一碗粥，别感到吃惊。他们等的不只是粥，也是新年。
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 亮 | liàng | bright; shiny; to shine; to light up |
| 排 | pái | to arrange; to line up |
| 队 | duì | team; group |
| 寒冷 | hánlěng | cold; frigid |
| 答案 | dá’àn | answer; solution |
| 指 | zhǐ | to mean; to refer to |
| 年底 | niándǐ | end of the year |
| 感谢 | gǎnxiè | to thank; to be grateful; thanks; gratitude |
| 一切 | yíqiè | everything; all |
| 人生 | rénshēng | life (a person's life) |
| 因此 | yīncǐ | therefore; consequently; for this reason |
| 免费 | miǎnfèi | free (of charge) |
English (for the teacher)
Winter in Beijing: before dawn, a long queue has already formed outside the Lama Temple. It is bitterly cold, but nobody is in a hurry; people chat as they wait. What are they waiting for? A bowl of hot porridge. It turns out today is the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month: the Laba Festival.
The “la” in Laba means layue, the last month of the lunar year; “ba”, eight, is the month’s eighth day. Long ago, at the end of the year, people gave thanks for a good harvest and hoped the next year would be safe and well. Later, when Buddhism reached China, it brought a story to the festival: legend says the Buddha ate a bowl of porridge on this day and then understood the truth of life. So many temples cook porridge on this day and give it away for free. More than two hundred years ago, the Lama Temple’s porridge was already famous. The tradition is still alive today.
So what actually goes into this porridge? There’s no standard answer. Rice, peanuts, red dates… Every family’s mix tends to be different, but there are usually at least eight. Some people joke that it’s like throwing every grain you can find at home into one pot. Simmer it for a few hours and it turns sweet and fragrant, full of flavour. One bowl on a winter morning and you’re warm all over.
In northern China there’s one more job on this day: soaking garlic. Put the garlic in vinegar and leave it somewhere cool. After twenty-odd days, the white garlic slowly turns a beautiful green. On New Year’s Eve, when the whole family eats dumplings, it’s ready just in time to eat with them. Why garlic? One explanation is that “suan” (garlic) sounds the same as “suan” (to count), and the end of the year is exactly when people count up what they earned and spent.
People say: “Once Laba is past, the New Year is here.” When Laba comes, Spring Festival is only about three weeks away. People start cleaning their homes and buying New Year goods, and slowly the air fills with the feeling of the holiday. So if you see a crowd queuing for a bowl of porridge in winter, don’t be surprised. They’re not just waiting for porridge; they’re waiting for the New Year.