Deputy Head of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs Tran Tuan Hung extended his greetings to Buddhist Khmer dignitaries, monks and people on the occasion of the upcoming Sene Dolta festival, a Khmer holiday to honour ancestors.
Mr. Hung and representatives of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee and the Viet Nam Buddhist Shangha visited and met Khmer dignitaries, followers, intellectuals and students at Candaransi Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City on October 4.
The Sene Dolta Festival is one of the largest annual Khmer festivals, along with Chol Chnam Thmay (New Year) and Ooc Oom Bok, a festival to thank the Moon for good harvests.
It is held from the 30th day of the eighth lunar month to the second day of the ninth lunar month each year, which falls on October 12-14 this year, during which Khmer people pay tribute to their ancestors and take part in community celebrative activities with traditional songs and dance after a hard working year.
The majority of Viet Nam’s Khmer population lives in the Southwestern region, who worship at more than 450 Khmer pagodas.