Tra Vinh (VNA) – The traditional Ok Om Bokfestival of the Khmer ethnic group was opened iꦜn the Mekong Delta province ofTra Vinh on October 25.

To celebrate the festival,part of the national intangible cultural heritage, a wide range of activitiesare taking place, including a cultural and tourism week, a festival featuring thesouthern region’s delicacies, an exhibition on the Mekong Delta’s tourism, anagricultural product fair, a Khmer costume contest, along with traditional sportsactivities. Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports andTourism Duong Hoang Sum said apart from helping with the preservation andpromotion of Khmer people’s culture, the event, scheduled to last throughOctober 31, is also an occasion to introduce local people and tourism potentialto visitors, enhance the province’s tourism links with other localities, andattract investment in tourism. The Ok Om Bok (moonworshipping) is one of the three main festivals, along with Sene Doltaand Chol Chnam Thmay, that Khmer people celebrate every year. It often takes place aroundthe full-moon period of the 10th lunar month, after the harvest season.  Khmer people believe the moon is a god who controls theweather and crops. The worship aims to thank the moon for granting them goodweather and bumper harvests, and to pray for better crops in the following year. Tra Vinh is home to nearly330,000 Khmer people who account for 31 percent of its population./.