Explore the traditional Laba Festival with Jeniffer. [Video/Wenzhou Overseas Media Center]
Jeniffer, an Angolan singer who has been living and working in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang province for five years, recently invited viewers from across the globe to join her and explore the traditional Chinese Laba Festival, which falls on Jan 10 this year.
Chinese mark the Laba Festival, the first solar term of the 12th lunar month of the year, by making Laba porridge, a must-have dish consisting of ingredients such as regular rice, sticky rice, sugar, red dates, lotus seeds, walnuts, chestnuts, almonds, longans, hazelnuts, raisins, red beans, peanuts, water caltrops, and roseleaf that represent people's yearning for better lives.
For example, the lotus seeds symbolize harmony and beauty, the longans represent a happy reunion, and chestnuts stand for good luck.
Jeniffer learned how to make Laba porridge as well as the traditions of the festival, which, according to her, has deepened her understanding of Chinese culture and strengthened her connections with the city.
Jeniffer, an alumna of Wenzhou University, now works as a singer. She released her original music work I Love Wenzhou in 2019 to express her affections for the city.
