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On this day a special hot rice porridge, called Laba Zhou, is eaten, which contains glutinous rice, red beans, millet, Chinese sorghum, peas and some other ingredients, such as dried dates, chestnut meat, walnut meat, almond, peanut, dried lotus seeds and etc. On the previous night, people will begin the preparation and stew the porridge at about midnight. It won't let out an attractive smell until the next morning. The flavor varies from place to place, in the North, it is a dessert with sugar added; in the South, salt and seasonal vegetables are put in.
This tradition has its roots in the Buddhist faith. It is said when Sakyamuni left home and strived for virtue, he fainted on the way because of hunger and tiredness. A shepherdess passing by saved him and cooked for him some porridge with glutinous rice and nuts. Then Sakyamuni sat under a bodhi tree in meditation and found Buddhism. So later the believers formed the habit of cooking Laba Zhou to commemorate it.
There is another interesting story about Laba Zhou. In the past there was a man who led a wasteful life and eventually he ran out of food one winter. His neighbor gave him the grain he dumped before and cooked the porridge. Afterwards eating Laba Zhou is to teach children thrift in managing household.