January 8 of this year happens to be the eighth day of the twelfth month of Lunar Chinese Calendar (known as Layue in Chinese). It is a traditional Chinese holiday --Laba Festival, which is also the enlightenment day of the Buddha. Despite the chilly weather, the steaming hot congee, which was cooked in a "Thousand-monk Pot" with a diameter of 3.36 meters, height of 1.8 meters and weight of 5.6 tons in the front of the main hall of Nanyue Grand Temple, has attracted lots of tourists.
As the saying goes, "The jaw is chilled off on Laqi and Laba (the seventh and eighth day of the twelfth month of Lunar Chinese Calendar)". In most places of China, it is customary on Laba Festival to eat Laba Congee. Emperors and kings in ancient times would hold ceremonies to sacrifice eight nature gods. Later, the tradition spread to the folk, becoming the Laba Festival. On this day, southerners would eat Laba Rice, and the northerners would have Laba Congee.
