Meanings
alternative Laba · alternative Laba festival
- A moveable Chinese festival day occurring between December 30th and January 28th on the Gregorian calendar, historically variously associated with propitiatory end-of-year sacrifices, ancestral veneration, and the Enlightenment of the Buddha, now chiefly observed by the consumption of Laba porridge.
The Laba congee is generally eaten on the eighth day of the 12th month in the lunar calendar as part of the Laba Festival. Like Buddha’s delight, it has become a food item that can be eaten at any time of the year.
2019 April 5, Novella Lui, “Is it vegan? 7 Chinese dishes that are completely plant-based”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 May 2022, Style / Leisure
Origin
- Chinese臘八節 /腊八节
- EnglishLaba Festival
A partial calque of the Mandarin form of Chinese 臘八節 /腊八节 (Làbājié), named for its occurrence on the 8th day (八) of the 12th month of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, sometimes known by the name Là (臘月) from an ancient end-of-year sacrifice.
More words from Chinese
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 臘八節 /腊八节, 臘八 /腊八
- 臘八節 /腊八节 (Làbājié)Translations
- 臘八 /腊八 (Làbā)Translations
Polish festiwal Laba
- festiwal LabaTranslations
Cite this entry
Laba Festival. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Laba%20Festival
“Laba Festival.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Laba%20Festival. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Laba Festival,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Laba%20Festival.
Source: Laba Festival on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.