Moon Worship Ceremony to pray for a prosperous new year with favorable weather and rain

(CTO) - On the evening of November 4, at Kh'leang Pagoda, Soc Trang Ward (Can Tho City), the Khmer people's Moon Worshiping Ceremony took place, one of the activities within the framework of the Ooc Om Boc Festival - Ngo Boat Racing in Can Tho City in 2025. Attending were Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tam, Member of the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, Head of the Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Committee of the Can Tho City Party Committee; leaders of the City People's Committee and leaders of departments and branches of Can Tho City.

The monks and Achar perform the Moon worship ceremony.

According to Khmer people's concept, the Moon Worshiping Ceremony is to thank the moon god for protecting the crops during the year, bringing favorable weather and wind, helping the crops to be bountiful. The Moon Worshiping Ceremony has spiritual significance expressed through offerings and decorations such as sugarcane, candles, betel leaves, areca nuts and some candies, sweet potatoes, flat rice, etc. to offer and remember the merits of the moon god, who is considered by Khmer people as the guardian god for good crops, helping people to prosper in the new year.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Minh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City, said: "The Moon Worshiping Ceremony is part of a series of events of the Ooc Om Boc Festival - Ngo Boat Racing in Can Tho City in 2025, contributing to making the festival atmosphere more jubilant and bustling, creating cultural diversity of the festival, both creating unique cultural products, serving tourism development in the direction of regional linkage, and associated with the implementation of the goal of preserving and promoting traditional cultural values ​​of ethnic minority communities, contributing to building and developing an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity".

Feeding flattened green rice to students according to traditional ritual.

During the ceremony, after the prayers of thanksgiving and the reading of prayers for blessings, the monks sprinkled water on the heads of the Buddhists with the hope of bringing blessings. Under the moonlight, the priests, the seniors who are prestigious people among the Khmer people, fed the participants with flat rice… along with wishes for peace and happiness in the new year. At the end of the flat rice feeding ceremony, everyone enjoyed the offerings and watched Khmer artisans reenact the Khmer people's activity of making flat rice.

News and photos: KIM NGOC

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/le-cung-trang-cau-nam-moi-sung-tuc-mua-thuan-gio-hoa-a193444.html