Laba Festival

The United States is home to one of the world’s largest Chinese communities. Although the Laba Festival is not as widely known as the Spring Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrations have been growing year by year through the efforts of Chinese communities and Buddhist centers. Flushing, New York: Shaolin Temple’s “Blessed Laba Porridge.” Ahead of the 2025 Laba Festival, the Overseas Headquarters of New York Shaolin Temple organized a cultural event in Flushing under the theme “Taste Porridge in the Twelfth Lunar Month, Welcome the New Spring · Shaolin Continues to Send Auspicious Blessings.” A specially arranged “Blessed Laba Porridge” session offered participants steaming bowls of Laba porridge, using traditional food to convey warmth and blessings. The porridge, symbolizing reunion and auspiciousness, was warmly welcomed by local residents and added a strong sense of warmth to the festival. Lan Chaohai, head of the New York Shaolin Temple Kung Fu Center, joined guests at the event in a solemn yet warm blessing ceremony. Lan said that the Laba Festival is an important occasion symbolizing harvest, health, peace, and harmony, and carrying people’s hopes for a better life in the future. Fo Guang Shan New York Buddhist Center likewise held a celebration in Flushing on the day of the Laba Festival, also observed there as Dharma Day (法宝节), distributing more than one thousand portions of Laba porridge to the community and forming connections with the public through the shared porridge. From the streets of Flushing to Buddhist centers across Chinese-populated neighborhoods, bowl after bowl of steaming Laba porridge carried the warmth of the festival into thousands of New York households. Florida: The story of Laba told through shadow puppetry. On January 25, 2026, the Three Acts of Goodness Chinese School at Guang Ming Temple, Fo Guang Shan, Florida, held the premiere of a shadow-puppet play titled “The Origins of Laba Porridge” to celebrate Dharma Day. More than 180 students and worshippers watched the performance and then tasted Laba porridge together. Everything in the production—from character design, background music, narration, lighting control, prop-making, and stage execution—was handmade and carried out by members of the youth group. No phones were used, no AI was used, and there was no automated editing. The Chinese narration was performed by senior students from the Chinese school. After the premiere, Venerable Ruyuan, abbot of Guang Ming Temple, said the performance represented a form of “transmission of faith” by teaching children the story of the Buddha’s enlightenment through shadow puppetry. It was also a form of “new branches growing from an old trunk”: for a tree to grow strong, it must continually send out new branches. On Dharma Day, Guang Ming Temple also distributed Laba porridge to the Orange County government and the Orange County Asian Association, where it was accepted by the chief of staff from the county mayor’s office. Laba porridge thus moved from the temple into an American local government office. Los Angeles and Atlanta: Laba porridge reaches Michelin-starred dining tables. Hu Xiaojun, vice chairman of the National Chinese Restaurant Alliance, said that he himself is a devoted “fan” of Laba porridge and drinks a bowl every year during the festival. Even his Michelin-starred restaurant, “Lao Sichuan,” specially serves Laba porridge to diners. In Atlanta, Yifan Restaurant introduced a special Laba Festival event designed to “warm both heart and stomach.” Laba porridge thus moved from the family kitchen onto the tables of Chinese restaurants in the United States, entering the commercial dining space.

Laba celebrations within Canada’s Chinese communities are equally varied, with Buddhist centers at their core and traditions that have gradually continued for many years. Toronto: Cham Shan Temple’s “Bring Blessings Home.” For many Chinese residents of Toronto, visiting Cham Shan Temple each year during the Laba Festival for a bowl of porridge has long become a custom. On January 26, 2026, the day of the Laba Festival, Cham Shan Temple in the Greater Toronto Area held a public-interest event themed “Bring Blessings Home and Welcome the Year of the Horse.” Through the free distribution of calligraphic works featuring the character 福 (fu, “blessing” or “good fortune”) and the offering of Laba porridge, the temple welcomed the approaching Spring Festival together with the public. From 10 a.m. onward, visitors arrived to receive Laba porridge and calligraphy bearing the character fu. The aroma of Laba porridge mingled with the fragrance of fresh ink, making the winter days of Vancouver and Toronto feel particularly different through this warmth. Richmond: The porridge-giving tradition at the Shaolin Temple Cultural Center. Every Laba Festival, the Shaolin Temple Cultural Center of Canada distributes Laba porridge free of charge in Richmond, sharing joy and blessings with local residents and attracting more than one hundred participants. According to the center, on the day of the Laba Festival, Shaolin-related institutions and disciples around the world collectively distributed more than 300,000 portions of Laba porridge to the public. Porridge-giving activities generally begin with a solemn Pudu Dharma assembly, during which participants chant sutras and offer prayers according to Shaolin Buddhist ritual procedures, sincerely praying for world peace and human well-being.

Brazil is the country in Latin America where the Laba Festival has spread most deeply. During Dharma Day each year, Fo Guang Shan centers across the country hold large-scale activities in which Laba porridge is offered to the public. In 2026, Fo Guang Shan centers across Brazil celebrated Dharma Day by distributing Laba porridge to local government agencies, worshippers, and visitors between January 18 and 26, giving out a total of 2,200 bowls. In Rio de Janeiro, members of Buddha’s Light International Brazil began preparing ingredients and cooking Laba porridge early on the morning of the 18th. Early the following morning, monastics led eight association officers carrying freshly cooked, steaming porridge to 88 shops in central Rio, bringing it directly to worshippers as they opened their businesses. Over two days, 300 bowls were distributed. In São Paulo, Zu Lai Temple distributed Laba porridge to the public at designated locations on January 25. Monastics led nearly seventy volunteers from Buddha’s Light International, the youth group, Fo Guang Scouts, and other groups in packing and distributing the porridge, giving out a total of 1,500 bowls. Many Brazilian visitors said the Laba porridge was exceptionally delicious. After learning about its origins, some happily ate two or even three bowls. Even more notably, Zu Lai Temple delivered Laba porridge to a Brazilian municipal government for the first time. On January 26, Dharma Day, Venerable Miaoyou visited the city government and presented 50 bowls of Laba porridge. Mayor Wellington Formiga praised its flavor and expressed strong agreement with the importance of “harmony and integration”, arranging with Zu Lai Temple to expand the porridge distribution at city hall the following year so that more people could learn about Dharma Day. Laba porridge had moved from a Chinese Buddhist temple into a Brazilian city hall. In 海習飛, Fo Guang Yuan likewise organized a Laba porridge-sharing activity on January 26. From Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo and then to 海習飛, the fragrance of Laba porridge spread through multiple Brazilian cities, becoming a warm witness to cultural exchange between China and Brazil.

France is one of the European countries where Laba Festival celebrations are particularly active. Sharing Laba porridge is the largest year-end activity for Fo Guang devotees in Paris. Every Dharma Day, Fo Guang Shan Fahua Chan Temple, Fo Guang Shan Paris, and the Paris Association of Buddha’s Light International mobilize the broader Fo Guang community to promote Laba porridge, using it to form wholesome connections with the public and convey the Buddha’s original spirit of compassion and relief for the world. From January 9 to 10, 2025, Fahua Chan Temple and Fo Guang Shan Paris held commemorative Dharma assemblies for the Buddha’s enlightenment and prepared Laba porridge as an offering to the Buddha and to share with the public, distributing 2,000 bowls over two days. France was once again facing an epidemic. For reasons of epidemic prevention and safety, some chapter officers voluntarily prepared Laba porridge at home and distributed it among neighbors so that all could share in the joy of the Buddha’s enlightenment. Many French friends praised the porridge after tasting it. Many Fo Guang devotees received steaming, delicious Laba porridge with smiles of happiness. Under the pressure of a severe epidemic, a bowl of “peace porridge” warmed both the stomach and the heart. The Paris Association of Buddha’s Light International also delivered Laba porridge to the Taipei Representative Office in France and the French newspaper European Times.