Today is Laba Festival. Have you eaten Laba Congee?

今天是腊八节，你们喝腊八粥了吗？

Laba Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday which is celebrated on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. It's a day for celebrating harvest, offering sacrifices to ancestors, and worshiping gods. But above all, it is a day for cooking Laba Congee, a hodgepodge of grains, beans and dried fruits used to invoke peace and good fortune.

农历十二月初八是中国的传统节日——腊八节。在这一天人们庆祝丰收、祭祖、敬神。最重要的是，在这一天人们会做由各种谷物、豆类和干果熬成的腊八粥以祈求来年和平和好运。

Traditionally, the Laba Congee is the most important element of the festival. The Laba Festival, the day in most parts of China have the custom of eating Laba Congee. In the north, it is a dessert with suggar added. In the south, salt is put in. Some people like to add cinnamon and other condiments to add flavor.

从传统上讲，腊八粥是腊八节最重要的元素。腊八节这天我国大多数地区都有吃腊八粥的习俗。在北方，人们会在粥里放糖，而南方偏好咸味的腊八粥。有人还喜欢加入桂圆来增添味道。

If it is cold on Laba, please have some porridge.

腊八若冷请喝粥

It can wet your whistle if you have it as soon as it is no longer hot.

不烫即食可润喉

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 can be served together with dumplings on the table.

腊八节的另一个传统就是腌制腊八蒜。从腊八节那天起，就将蒜泡在醋中二十多天。然后，到春节的时候，就可以在餐桌上与饺子同食了。

Today is Laba, also happens to be a major cold. When Major Cold meets Laba, it is a warm winter.

今天是腊八节，恰巧也是一场大寒。腊八遇上大寒，就是温暖的冬天。