腊八节

“腊八”一般可以直接用拼音“laba”来表示，后面进一步说明这一天是农历十二月初八（the eighth day of the 12th lunar month）即可。

The 12th lunar month in Chinese is called la yue, so the eighth day of this lunar month is la yue chu ba, or laba.

因为腊八节有喝腊八粥（Laba rice porridge）的传统，所以也可以简单介绍说这天又称the Laba Rice Porridge Festival。

The day is also known as the Laba Rice Porridge Festival. The Laba this year falls on Jan 10.

祭祀、喝腊八粥、腌腊八蒜是腊八的三大习俗。

Three major customs on Laba are ancestor worship, eating Laba rice porridge and making Laba garlic.

祭祀 ：一岁之末为“腊”。在我国上古时期，人们把冬季祭祀神灵、祖先称为“大腊”，举行冬祀日子被称为“腊日”。慢慢的每年农历腊月初八作为“腊日”逐渐被确定下来，成为祈求丰收和吉祥的传统节日。

The worship of ancestors, called "腊" in Chinese, and the sacrifice for the gods, called "蜡", both frequently took place in the 12th month, which led to the traditional name of the month: la yue. And the day of sacrifice is called la ri.

如今的腊八节，就像童谣里唱的那样，更多意味着春节序幕已经拉开，年味儿一天比一天浓了。

喝腊八粥：在腊八当天，一定要喝一碗热乎乎的腊八粥（Laba porridge），讨个好彩头。我国喝腊八粥的历史，已有一千多年。各地腊八粥的花样，一定会让你看花了眼。最为讲究的会在白米中掺入红枣、莲子、核桃、栗子、杏仁、松仁、桂圆、榛子、葡萄、白果、菱角、青丝、玫瑰、红豆、花生等不下二十种食物。

The main ingredients of the Laba porridge are rice and sticky rice; people also add sugar, red dates, lotus seeds, walnuts, chestnuts, almonds, longans, hazelnuts, raisins, red beans, peanuts, water caltrops, roseleaf and other various materials to make the porridge special.

人们在腊月初七的晚上，就开始忙碌起来，洗米、泡果、剥皮、去核、精拣然后在半夜时分开始炖煮，一直炖到第二天清晨，腊八粥才算熬好了。

腌腊八蒜： 中国华北大部分地区在腊月初八这天有用醋泡蒜的习俗，叫“腊八蒜”（Laba garlic）。

腊八这一天，将剥好的蒜瓣放入干净的坛中，再倒入老醋，密封后腌制数天。制好的腊八蒜通体晶莹碧绿，口感酸辣，别具一番风味。

  人间烟火气，最抚凡人心。今天腊八节，记得喝一碗腊八粥！也记得给思念的人打个电话，道一声祝福！新的一年，愿有人问你粥可温，有人与你共黄昏！