有句俗語說：過完臘八就是年！
今天就是臘月初八——臘八節。其實自先上古起，就已經有了臘八，當時的臘八是用來祭祀祖先和神靈（包括門神、戶神、宅神、灶神、井神）的祭祀儀式，祈求豐收和吉祥。
而今天，臘八已經成為了一個重要的傳統節日。說不定不久也能像春節、中秋節、元宵節一樣風靡海外！
那麼我們該怎麼介紹臘八這個傳統節日和習俗呢？
「臘八，臘八，凍掉下巴」，這句俗語相信大家都聽說過，臘月初八，被認為是一年中最冷的一天，今天的習俗，就是喝臘八粥。
那麼，「臘八粥」用英語怎麼說呢？
其實，臘八的英文就是漢語拼音Laba，也譯作the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month，具體內容我們看下文。
臘八用英文怎麼介紹
Laba Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar （陰曆的）month. It’s a day for celebrating harvest, offering sacrifices（祭品） to ancestors, and worshiping gods（拜神）. But above all, it is a day for cooking Laba porridge （臘八粥）, a hodgepodge（大雜燴） of grains, beans and dried fruits used to invoke（祈求） peace and good fortune.
農曆十二月初八是中國的傳統節日——臘八節，在這一天人們慶祝豐收、祭祀祖先、拜神。最重要的是，在這一天人們要做由各種穀物、豆類和乾果熬成的臘八粥以祈求來年和平及好運。
Chinese people believe that eating porridge during Laba festival will bring good luck. Laba porridge is infused with（充滿了） Chinese people’s beautiful expectations of a happy life.
中國人相信臘八節喝臘八粥會帶來好運，臘八粥充滿著中國人民對幸福生活的美麗期望。
Folktales（民間傳說） abound as to the origins of eating porridge during Laba Festival. According to the most famous one, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang (reigned 1368-1399), used to herd cattle（放牛） for a rich man. One day, his carelessness caused a leg of one of the cows to be broken. The rich man was so angry that he locked up the culprit（犯人） in a small room and didn』t allow food to be given to him. After some time, the famished （極飢餓的）Zhu Yuanzhang found in a corner of the room a rat hole that contained a supply of stolen red beans, rice, red dates and other produce. These he boiled into porridge, on which he feasted voluptuously. Because that day was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the emperor Zhu Yuanzhang named the porridge Laba porridge.
關於臘八節喝粥的起源，民間故事比比皆是。最著名的一個,明朝的開國皇帝朱元璋(1368 - 1399年在位)，小時候給財主放牛，因牛腿摔斷被財主關在一間屋子裡，不給他飯吃， 過了一段時間，快要餓死的朱元璋在屋子的角落裡發現了一個老鼠洞，從中挖掘出紅豆、大米、紅棗等各種糧食，煮成粥食用，覺得非常香甜。因為這一天是農曆的十二月八日,皇帝朱元璋將它命名為臘八粥。
臘八習俗：
臘八粥
Laba porridge
The Laba porridge is not only a yummy traditional rite（習俗） in China to mark the Laba Festival but also a delicacy（美味） good for health.
臘八節喝臘八粥是中國傳統習俗，臘八粥不僅好喝，對身體也十分有益。
臘八粥，表達為「Laba porridge」；「la」即「臘」，農曆12月就是「臘月」，即「12th lunar month」。臘八就是臘月初八，這天要喝的臘八粥也稱八寶粥，即「Babao porridge(Eight Treasures)」。
臘八粥由多種食才熬制，但所用材料各地不同，主要成分包括糯米 glutinous rice，紅豆 red beans，薏米 millets，大米 Chinese sorghum，蓮子 lotus seeds，棗 dates，栗子 chestnuts，核桃 walnut，杏仁 almonds，花生 peanuts等。
臘八蒜
Laba garlic
In North China there is a custom of pickling garlic（浸泡大蒜） in vinegar on Laba Festival. After some pickling, the garlic will turn green. This pickled garlic goes very well with dumplings. In Chinese, the words 「garlic」 and 「calculate」 have the same pronunciation; therefore, eating garlic on Laba Festival is symbolic of reckoning（計算） the year’s income and expenses as year-end approaches.
在中國的北方有一個習俗，在臘八節的時候把蒜泡到醋中，經過醋的浸泡後，蒜會變的通體碧綠。經過醋泡過的蒜和餃子一起吃更配哦~在中國「蒜」與「算」同音，隨著年底的臨近，在臘八節那天吃蒜是計算整年收支的象徵。
臘八面
Laba noodles
Because northerners like foods made from wheat flour, they eat Laba noodles on Laba Festival.
因為北方人喜歡吃小麥麵粉做的食物，所以在臘八節那天他們吃臘八面。
煮五豆
Boiling five kinds of beans
In some areas, people boil five kinds of beans and make a dough （麵糰）in the shape of sparrow’s head on the eighth day of the 12th lunar month. They believe if they eat 「sparrow heads」, the sparrows will have headaches and not harm their crops in the coming year.
有一些地區，人們在農曆十二月初八那天煮五種豆子，並將麵糰揉成一個麻雀的頭的形狀。人們相信如果吃「麻雀頭」，麻雀就會頭疼，來年它們就不會傷害農作物。
吃冰
Eating ice
Northerners have a custom of leaving a basin of water outside the house to be frozen; they break this ice into pieces and eat it on Laba Festival. The ice on this day is said to possess supernatural power, capable of keeping those who eat it free from stomachache for a whole year.
北方人有一個習俗，他們在房子外面放一盆水等水凍成冰，在臘八節那天把冰搗碎並把它吃掉。據說，這天的冰擁有超自然的力量，它能讓吃了的人一整年都不會肚子疼。
記得今天來碗臘八粥啊！
來源：網際網路
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