Monks at a Khmer pagoda in Bạc Liêu Province receive cogratulations and gifts from the Government Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs on the occasion of the upcoming Sen Đôn-ta Festival on September 24-26. — VNA/VNS Photo Chanh Đa

MEKONG DELTA — On the occasion of the upcoming the Sen Đôn-ta Festival on September 24-26, authorities have sent congratulations and gifts to local ethnic Khmers in the Mekong Delta region.

On Monday Lê Sơn Hải, deputy head of the Government Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, visited and sent congratulations to monks at pagodas and wished the Khmer community in Bạc Liêu Province a happy and warm festival.

The Sen Đôn-ta Festival is one of the largest annual festivals of ethnic Khmers, which give thanks to the moon for good harvests. The three-day festival falls between lunar August 29 and September 1 this year.

Hải praised the great contributions of the monks and the local Khmer community to the province’s socio-economic development, with many achievements over the past years.

“Sen Đôn-ta is a traditional cultural event of the ethnic Khmers that needs to be preserved and promoted,” he said.

He hopes the Khmer community will continue to join hands with authorities to comply with the Party and State's ethnic policies, contributing to improve the spiritual and material life of the Khmers .

The Government Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs gave gifts to two outstanding pagodas, Đìa Chuối and Koh Thum, for their achievements and contributions in ethnic affairs, and 30 disadvantaged Khmer households.

On the same day, Lê Văn Nưng chairman of the An Giang Province's People’s Committee, led a delegation to visit and send congratulations to monks at Soài So Tơm Nớp and Tà Pạ pagodas and the Khmer community in Tri Tôn District.

The province has maintained its socio-economic development, security, social order and safety after recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These achievements were made possible partly thanks to contributions by the Khmer community in the province,” he said.

The province has 65 Khmer pagodas and about 93,000 ethnic Khmers.

He called on all the Khmer clergy and people to continue strengthening national unity for building a rich and beautiful homeland.

Representatives of the pagodas thanked the Party, State and local authorities for their attention and support to the Khmer community, particularly in healthcare, education, vocational training and job creation.

Sen Đôn-ta is also called "Phchum Banh", meaning family gathering and virtue.

During the festival, many religious rituals and several cultural activities will take place at Khmer pagodas.

The Mekong Delta is home to more than 1.3 million ethnic Khmers. — VNS