The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has announced therecognition of the Ok-Om-Bok festival as the 4th national intangiblecultural heritage of southern Tra Vinh province.

Ok-Om-Bok, a moon worshipping ritual performed by the Khmer ethnicgroup, is one of the three main festivals they celebrate every year. TheKhmer believe the moon is a God who controls the weather and cropsthroughout the year.

The festival takes placeat full moon in the 10 th lunar month. On this occasion, the localresidents provide offerings to show their gratitude for the God forgiving them good weather conditions and fruitful harvests.

Each village organises their own festival in the courtyards of theirlocal pagodas, while the large provincial festival is held at Ba Om pondcultural relic site. The festival features a number of entertainmentopportunities, including art performances, traditional sports challengesand folk games.

Tra Vinh is currently home to320,000 ethnic Khmer, accounting for 32 percent of the province’s totalpopulation. During the moon worshipping festival, Ba Om pond culturalrelic site attracts thousands of local inhabitants and tourists.-VNA