Today is Laba Festival(腊八节là bā jié), a prelude to the traditional Spring Festival. The day is commonly celebrated by cooking and eating Làbā Congee (腊八粥là bā zhōu) made of various components to pray for a good harvest and good fortune. Làbā congee contains glutinous rice(糯米nuò mǐ), red beans(红豆hóng dòu),  dried lotus seeds(莲子lián zǐ), longans/dragon's eyes (龙眼lóng yǎn) and some other ingredients, such as dried dates(干枣gàn zǎo), chestnut(栗子lì zi), walnut(核桃hé táo), almond(杏仁xìng rén), peanut(花生huā shēng), etc. These ingredients (食材shí cái) also  have taken on cultural connotations(文化内涵wén huà nèi hán). For example，red beans(红豆hóng dòu) represent the feeling of longing for the beloved (相思之情xiāng sī zhī qíng)，lotus seeds(莲子lián zǐ) represent fertility (多子duō zǐ)，jujubes (大枣dà zǎo) represent auspicious (吉祥如意)，longans/dragon's eyes (龙眼lóng yǎn) represent prosperity and wealth (富贵兴旺fù guì xīng wàng)。