The ancient poems about the Laba Festival are as follows:
1. "Laba" - (Qing Dynasty) Xia Renhu
Every family cooks a lot of porridge in Laba, and the minister is specially sent to Yonghe .
Tuici is also the Buddha of today, and he is the second pot to be cooked.
Translation: On the Laba Festival, every family will cook Laba porridge, and the ministers specially cook the porridge in Yonghe Temple. The first pot is dedicated to the Buddha, and the second pot is dedicated to the Queen Mother and her family members.
2. "Tang Dynasty" - Du Fu (Tang Dynasty)
It is still warm all year round, but this year the cold weather is gone.
The color of the intruding snow is still day lily, and the spring light is revealed by wicker.
I drank too much and got drunk at night in order to seek good fortune. When I returned home, I first dispersed to Zichen Dynasty.
The lip fat and facial medicine follow the grace, and the green tube and silver baby descend to the sky.
Translation: In previous years, the weather was still very cold during the twelfth lunar month, and warmth was still far away. The climate during the twelfth lunar month was mild and the ice was completely gone. When he was happy, he was ready to resign from the court and return home, where he would drink and enjoy the night, but at this moment, he was grateful for the emperor's kindness and couldn't just leave.
3. "Walking to the West Village on December 8th" - (Song Dynasty) Lu You
The wind in the twelfth lunar month is already spring, and I am passing by my neighbor because of the time.
In Chaimen, the desert is filled with smoke of grass, and there are many traces of cattle on the wild waterside.
Those who are sick often need only medicine, and those who have not done anything well are idlers.
Nowadays, Buddha porridge is fed to each other, and Jiangcun Village is more innovative.
Translation: There is already a hint of spring in the breeze of the twelfth lunar month, so I walk by my neighbor’s house on crutches from time to time. I saw smoke curling up from the firewood door of my neighbor's house, and the footprints of cattle plowing by the waterside in the wild overlapped one after another. The weak and sick only need medicine, and there is no corvee recruitment, so they are idle at home. Today my neighbor gave me Laba rice porridge, and I felt more and more the breath of spring in the small village by the river.
4. "Rose in December" - (Song Dynasty) Yang Wanli
There is no day when the flower will not be red, and there will be no day without spring breeze for this flower.
One tip of the rouge pen has been peeled off, and the four broken edges are still covered with emerald velvet.
It has a unique fragrance that surpasses the peaches and plums, but also rivals the plum blossoms in the snow and frost.
Looking at the new year with joy, forgetting that this morning is the winter season.
Translation: I thought the flowers would only be red for a few days after they bloom, but the rose flowers are full of spring breeze every day, and they are so beautiful. The newly bloomed bud is like a rouge-colored brush, and the emerald-like velvet wraps the blooming flower. The fragrance of the rose is not only comparable to that of peaches and plums, but also works together with the wintersweet to cheer up the frost and fight the snow. I happily folded it off and watched the spring flowers, forgetting that it was still the middle of winter this morning.
5. "Reflections on the Dangerous Family Porridge in Laba" - (Song Dynasty) Zhao Wannian
There was dust outside Xiangyang City, and the dead were among the arrows and stones.
If you don’t provide porridge to the master, you will know that Laba is today.
Translation: The enemy troops are pressing outside Xiangyang City, but they still defend the city wall despite random arrows and stones.
If I hadn’t drank Laba porridge, how would I have known that today was the Laba Festival!