[Traditional Chinese Festival] Customs of 臘八節(Laba Festival) in China.Eng Sub

Today(January 18, 2024) is the traditional Chinese festival,臘八節 Laba Festival.Let’s learn about some interesting traditions and customs about this festival.

【About 臘八節(Laba Festival)】

Laba Festival (Chinese:臘八節) is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the eighth day of the month of La (or Layue 臘月), the twelfth month of the Chinese calendar. It is the beginning of the Chinese New Year period. It is customary on this day to eat Laba congee.

Laba Festival was not on a fixed day until the Southern and Northern dynasties, when it was influenced by Buddhism and was fixed on the eighth day of twelfth month, which was also the enlightenment day of the Buddha. Therefore, many customs of the Laba Festival are related to Buddhism.

The Laba Festival's name represents its date on the Chinese calendar. La is the name of the twelfth and final month, and ba means "eight/八". In ancient China, the "eight/八" referred to making sacrifices to eight gods at the end of the year.

In its original form, the festival was celebrated by making sacrifices to gods and ancestors to wish for good fortune, health, safety, and a good harvest in the new year. The word la originally referred to these sacrifices.

After Buddhism spread to China during the first century CE, the festival was used as commemoration of Gautama Buddha's enlightenment.It was given a fixed date (the eighth day of the twelfth month) during the Northern and Southern dynasties.

【Customs of 臘八節/Laba Festival?】

Laba congee/臘八粥

Traditionally, the consumption of Laba congee is an important element of the festival. There are multiple legendary accounts of the dish's origins. One story says that it originated in the Song dynasty with Buddhist monasteries giving congee to people in honor of the story that Sakyamuni (Gautama Buddha) reached enlightenment on the eighth day of the twelfth month after eating congee.

Laba congee or Laba porridge (臘八粥; Làbāzhōu) is very popular in many places in China. Different kinds of rice, beans, nuts and dried fruits are the main ingredients. People believe that it's good for health in the winter.

It is also known as "eight-treasure congee" (八宝粥; Bā bǎo zhōu)and is usually made with eight or more ingredients, representing good luck. Eight is a lucky number in China, and the ba in Laba also means eight.

There are many variations of Laba congee in different regions of China. Ingredients can include mixed grains, such as rice, millet, and barley; beans and nuts such as mung beans, azuki beans, lotus seeds, peanuts, walnuts, and chestnuts; dried fruit such as red dates, longan, raisins, and goji berries; and other ingredients such as vegetables and meat.

2.Laba garlic/臘八蒜

Another Laba food is Laba garlic, which is particularly popular in northern China.Garlic in Chinese (蒜; suàn) has the same pronunciation as calculate (算; suàn), and it is said that on the Laba Festival businesses should balance their books and calculate their revenues and expenditures for the year.Laba garlic is made by soaking garlic in vinegar. Laba garlic is soaked in vinegar from the Laba Festival until Chinese New Year. The garlic and vinegar are then used alongside Chinese dumplings (jiaozi) around Chinese New Year.

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🧚🏻‍Model/Makeup：@曾嚼子&@兔狲猫眠眠

📸 Photo:@逸群闲余

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"Swimming for the Holy Cross" 🇷🇸

◾Serbian Orthodox Epiphany, known as Богојављење (lat. Bogojavljenje) , is a significant religious observance celebrated on January 19th (January 6th in the Julian calendar). On this day, the Serbian Orthodox Church commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. One of the distinctive customs during Богојављање is the ritual of „Пливање за часни крст“ or swimming for the Holy Cross.

◾In this ritual, young men dive into icy waters to retrieve a wooden cross thrown by a priest. The one who successfully retrieves the cross is believed to receive a special blessing and good fortune throughout the year.

◾This tradition symbolizes the baptism of Jesus and emphasizes the importance of spiritual cleansing and renewal. The act of swimming in cold waters represents a commitment to faith and a willingness to endure challenges for the sake of religious devotion.

Mandate Of Heaven And Supreme Justice

In the Zhou dynasty, the concept of the Mandate of Heaven, revolutionary for Chinese philosophy, emerged and took root for millennia. According to the then political-religious narrative, the Mandate of Heaven was given to the most worthy and righteous one. While from the very beginning it served as an encouraging rationale for overthrowing the Shang dynasty, more and more ambiguities arose as the…

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A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.

- John Keats

This Romanian sweet bread derives its name from the Latin word for Easter. With its round shape, golden crust, and yellow center, Pască is said to resemble the Sun and symbolize the rebirth of nature in springtime. It is baked only for Easter and usually on Saturday of the Holy Week.

The bread is prepared with yeasted dough that is usually flavored with vanilla and citrus juice and holds a delectable filling made with a combination of fresh urdă whey cheese, eggs, sour cream, sugar, and raisins.

According to Christian tradition, freshly-baked pască (on Saturday) should be taken to church on Easter Sunday for the custom of blessing food in hopes of future abundance and prosperity.

Here's a headcanon I shared with my fellow RG brethren (that I also pretty much stole from an unrelated, non-RWBY fic lmao):

When Ruby and Oscar eventually tie the knot, get together together... together. Ruby won't settle for a simple 'ol wedding ring, no siree!

She goes for wedding earrings! Small hoop earrings at that, with hers being gold while Oscar's are silver. And they have an engraving of the sun and moon respectively!

Why? Earrings won't get easily dirty or damaged during battles, they can't be stolen easily, and Ruby just likes her goth aesthetics! Subtle, meaningful but not too fancy shmancy, and practical!

THE EARRING PROPOSAL IS MY WEAKNESS HOW DARE YOU!!!! >:O

AHHHH 😭💕💖💘💝

Kaeya oftentimes wonders what it must have been like, living in Khaenri'ah. Reading the tales of Khaenri'ahn heroes Jean's shared with him, of things he remembered his father mentioning, helped him picture it all. As did knowledge the Akademiya has of Dahri ruins he managed to get his hands on one way or another years later, during his visit to Sumeru.

you guys gotta learn to be a lot cooler about religions that aren't your own

and yes. that does include christianity.

My whole cousin is going to be a Zulu bride this year :: I love our culture 2023 owabo (2023 is theirs) ❤️ 💍

【Hairstyle Historical Artifact Reference】:

China Tang Dynasty Dunhuang Mural：敦煌莫高窟231窟壁画 陰處士父母供养像/Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes Cave 231,Parents of Yin Chu Shi.

[Hanfu · 漢服]Chinese Tang Dynasty(618-906 A.D)Traditional Clothing Photoshoot

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📸Photo：@realyn

👗Hanfu：@山涧服饰 

💄Styling∶ @莫Mo_Makeup

🧚🏻‍♀️Model： @山涧or月蓉坊掌柜上邪月

🔗Weibo:https://weibo.com/5541803701/MoqPtk1uh?refer_flag=1001030103_

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idle thought: when did Arsay first find out about huntspeak? About it being an old traditional miqo'te thing etc? (also how does she feel about the whole idea of miqo'te tradition stuff just generally, is it something she's curious about, something she wishes she'd learned about growing up, or is she largely indifferent about the whole being miqo'te-ness, her place in the whole keeper-seeker dichotomy and all that?)

Oh great question! Well, she sure as hell did not learn it from Emrara. Despite traveling with Arsay's parents for X number of years, Emrara never really picked up that much knowledge about Miqo'te tribe culture and customs. I think Arsay would have first heard traditional Miqo'te huntspeak during her first trip to the Forgotten Springs while she searched for the former company of hero's member U'odh Nunh. Most likely she overheard some of the huntresses chattering to each other about a pack of sand worms roaming too close to camp. She was definitely curious but felt strange asking about it directly, so she kept to herself and carried on her task of earning a favour for the U tribe Nuhn.

This is a common trend for Arsay and learning about the culture. She's so curious, she wants to know so much, but its difficult for her to broach the topic. Not only does she not even know what she doesn't know, there's also lot of hesitancy to "outting" herself as an ignorant miqo'te. Like, every Miqo'te she interacts with treats her like a normal person, they assume she has a similar experience, base knowledge, etc. She doesn't want to risk breaking that illusion, she doesn't want to be seen as an outsider instead of a peer. So she doesn't question. She nods when people assume she's from the shroud, because I guess technically she is?? on her mom's side? She doesn't want to give them an opening to scrutinize or reject her for being different. She had enough of that growing up. Arsay loves being a Miqo'te. She loves her fluffy tail, her sharp teeth, being able to see so well in the dark, how easy it is for her to climb trees, hear from such long distances away. But she's never fully felt like a miqo'te. She doesn't feel tethered to Azyma or Menphina. Despite learning her father was from the U tribe, she doesn't consider them family. She wanders through the black shroud a stranger, wondering if she'll ever into another keeper with the same family name as her. She doesn't really know if she needs miqo'te tradition in her life, but she wonders if knowing something might make her feel a little more whole. That's why it made such an impact to befriend G'raha when she did. When he talked about his difficulties growing up away from his tribe, being bullied for his heterochromia (something that is generally seen auspicious in seeker culture actually!), it made Arsay feel safe enough to reveal she grew up outside of a traditional Miqo'te clan. They bonded over how little they knew about themselves. Even when Arsay asked a dumb question, he explained what he could without making her feel bad. This is when she probably would have asked him about huntspeak as well. A great lead up to G'raha teaching Arsay how to shoot a bow and arrow the way he was taught before being sent away.

And a similar connection point happened again when Arsay found out Y'shtola also grew up isolated from her tribe. Granted Y'shtola still knew a hell of a lot more than Arsay ever could, but it was something. A bit of security that Arsay didn't have to save face all the time

Now a days, Arsay's learned quite a lot from both her seeker partners and it's made her really happy! She's much more comfortable being a miqo'te living outside of tradition, especially since she feels like she's made her own tribe that can have it's own customs (even if some are technically south seas lalafel).

Cozy Qing Dynasty tea house. Traditional Chinese-Chinese socializing area. Dongguan (東莞), Daojiao (道滘), Jichuan (濟川). The perfect setting for a scene from some Wuxia novel. 

Photo: ©谷雨旅行

Quicumque amisit dignitatem pristinam, ignavis etiam iocus est in casu gravi.

- Phaedrus

Whoever has lost his ancient dignity Is a joke to baser men in the midst of grave mistake.

what are some uniquely french christmas traditions?

Hi!

We made a post last year with some French traditions for Christmas and New Year's, which you can find here!

A lot of the traditions are kind of shared with neighbouring countries, like the Christmas markets, which are also traditional in Germany for instance, or Advent Calendars which are a very popular tradition (there are some for everyone, with chocolates, teas, toys e.g. Playmobil/Lego, and even a few ML ones!) but there are some things that are fairly unique to us like:

🎄 Drinking champagne on Christmas Eve: just because, champagne being French, it's a tradition that originated here 😉

🎄 The Réveillon de Noël = Christmas Eve dinner: it's a moment where families will gather before exchanging presents (either after dinner on the 24th, or on the morning of the 25th). It generally involves oysters and other shellfish, smoked salmon/trout and foie gras (goose liver) as starters, and a stuffed pintade (guineafowl) as the main course, and for dessert...

🎄 The bûche de Noël: it's the traditional dessert for Christmas. It's a cake that's shaped like a log (which is what bûche means), that you buy at a bakery, a supermarket, or that you can make yourself! There's a bunch of different flavours, ranging from chocolate to raspberry, passionfruit, or even more novel options. It can be a proper cake, with a génoise base, or have a more mousse-y consistency, with a craquant base.

🎄 Putting your slippers (chaussons) under the Christmas tree: unlike other cultures, the tradition isn't to hang stockings, but to leave your slippers out! Father Christmas then piles the presents around them, and adds some clementimes and other sweets in them.

🎄 Bonus for Christian people: the Santons de Provence. They're little ceramic figurines that are a part of Nativity decorations; there's of course the "core Nativity" (Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the donkey and the ox ± the three kings), but then you can add various other figures for instance representing more or less anachronistic professions like merchants, lawyers, chocolate-makers and the like.

Hope it helps, and happy holidays!

Unlocking Opportunities: How a Trusted Education & Career Coach Facilitates Study in the UK

In the vibrant city of Dubai, where innovation meets tradition, the journey of Trusted Education & Career Coaches and consultants unfolds with promising opportunities and transformative innovations. As Dubai continues to position itself as a global hub for education and business, students in the region are witnessing a dynamic evolution in the way they learn, explore career paths, and prepare for the future. In this blog post, we delve into the multifaceted aspects of education and career opportunities for Dubai students, from emerging trends in learning to the diverse pathways in the professional realm.

Virtual Reality Classrooms: Stepping into Tomorrow

Imagine students donning VR headsets, transported to ancient civilizations or exploring molecular structures up close. Virtual reality classrooms are revolutionizing learning, turning textbooks into immersive experiences. In Dubai, where innovation is a way of life, VR classrooms are poised to reshape traditional learning paradigms.

One of the defining characteristics of modern education in Dubai is the integration of cutting-edge technologies that enhance learning experiences. Virtual reality (VR) classrooms have emerged as a game-changer, offering students immersive and interactive environments that transcend traditional teaching methods. Imagine a history lesson where students can virtually visit ancient civilizations or a science class where they explore complex molecular structures up close. VR classrooms not only make learning engaging but also foster deeper understanding and retention of concepts.

Drob de miel - another traditional Easter dish in Romania, it is served as a main course accompanied by various side dishes, or as a simple appetizer.

Although the ingredients and the methods of preparation may vary, drob de miel usually consists of a mixture of ground lamb offal, bread dipped in milk, chopped herbs, hard-boiled eggs, and vegetables, wrapped in lamb caul fat. The meatloaf is baked in the oven and can also be prepared with pastry sheets instead of lamb caul fat, a dish known as drob de miel în aluat. Due to its similarity to the Scottish haggis, this dish is often called Romanian lamb haggis.