Temples across the country celebrated the traditional festival of Laba by giving free porridge to the public on Friday.

Beijing residents flocked to the Yonghegong Lama Temple, located on the northeastern corner of the Second Ring Road, for a free bowl of Laba congee (porridge with nuts and dried fruits) on the traditional festival that falls on the eighth day of the lunar month.

The Lama Temple handed out 385 km, about 3,000 bowls, of porridge, which was prepared using 29 different types of dried fruits.

Among the Buddhist temples of the highest standard, the Lama Temple distributes free porridge at the festival every year.

The Jade Buddha Monastery in Shanghai gave Laba congee to residents, advertising it as: "Taste Delicious Laba Porridge, Enjoy Auspicious Expo Year". The Luohan Temple in downtown Chongqing also celebrated the festival as a prelude to the Spring Festival.

Lingyin Temple, a Buddhist temple in Hangzhou, prepared 200,000 bowls of porridge, the most in the history of Laba, with the help of 2,000 volunteer chefs.

Laba is also recorded as the day Sakyamuni was enlightened or became Buddha. The custom of eating Laba congee became popular in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), with royal families distributing the porridge to the poor.

Nowadays, Buddhists give out Laba congee not to feed the poor but to persuade people to live to their lives on principles, Master Dai from the Yonghegong Lama Temple was quoted as saying in a Xinhua report. For people from various religions and races, they feel they get close to each other after eating a bowl of porridge together, he said.

(China Daily 01/23/2010 page4)