[3] After Buddhism spread to China during the first century CE, the festival was used as commemoration of Gautama Buddha's enlightenment.

[2] It was given a fixed date (the eighth day of the twelfth month) during the Northern and Southern dynasties.

[3] During the Qing dynasty, ceremonies for the Laba festival were held at the Yonghe Temple in Beijing.

[4] Laba Festival is considered the prelude to Chinese New Year, which falls about three weeks later.

This practice, which originated from ancient traditions of witchcraft, is still observed in places such as Xinhua, Hunan.

[7] 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.

[1] It is also known as "eight-treasure congee" (八宝粥; Bā bǎo zhōu)[8] and is usually made with eight or more ingredients, representing good luck.