Ooc Om-Bok festival

Ooc Om-Bok festival is one of the religious services of Khmer minority group, especially in Soc Trang province, that worships the moon deity and prays for luck, happiness, good weather and bumper crops. Annually, it is held when the dry season begins and rice is ripening on the fields. Khmer people are in the process of preparing till 14 October in Lunar Year when the Moon worshipping ceremony will take place on the evening in the yard of the pagodas or the residents house. To celebrate this festival, local people will erect bamboo with a crossbar which is decorated by flowers and leaves. They put the table below with full of offerings, that include green rice flakes, potatoes, coconuts, bananas, grapefruits, oranges and cakes. During the ceremony, people sit on the ground with crossed legs, clasping their hands before the altar and look up the moon while the chief carries out a religious ritual. He says a prayer for all people to be blessed with their business and ask the moon deity to receive the offerings. After the ceremony, the elders will take a handful of green rice or cm dp (a kind of young sticky rice) and feed their children before asking them some questions. If the children answer the question clearly and politely, all the best will come to them that year. Then, people enjoy the offerings together and the children, under the moonlight, play games or dance and sing. One of the traditional activities of the Khmer is the custom of releasing paper lantern at the pagodas. They have a lively imagination that releasing lights into the sky and putting lights on the river is likely to throw away the darkness, impure and sadness from the village. After the Ooc-Om-Bok festival, Khmer people also organize a sportive cultural activity ua ghe Ngo (Ngo boat racing) that is quite popular and attracts a lot of attention from the locals even the foreigners. The image of fast sliding-along snake, especially on the river, is an inspiration of making the boat. These are colorful and decorated with the mascot that is the symbol of each pagoda. Its length is approximately from 24 to 30 metres. Each boat can contain from 52 to 54 seats for the competitors and the navigator. The participants, who are selected carefully

before the game, are strong muscular men and have long-year experience. They will be divided into two groups A and B. Group A includes these have priority from the last competition. Group B is the remainder. During the fierce competition, the spectators will stand along the river and cheer for the team they support. Specially, they can enjoy the traditional musical performance of the local artists with the traditional instrument like drum, flute, hornThe show not only serve the cultural activity but also ensure that the competitors are in high spirit. In statistic, every racing season, there are approximately 2.5 to 3 thousand people rush to Soc Trang province to take part in this festival. Crowded streets, no sleeping people, parties are these closely particular pictures which is happening through the festival.