Phuoc Bien Festival in Vinh Chau has existed for hundreds of years, held on February 14 and 15 (Lunar calendar) every year. The festival is to thank the sea for giving seafood resources, pray for seafarers to have peace, favorable weather, catch lots of shrimp and fish; thank nature, the ancestors who reclaimed the land to create fertile coastal alluvial plains, bringing bumper crops.
Initially, the Phuoc Bien festival was initiated by a Khmer monk named Ta Hu. Accordingly, the monk built a tower on a sand dune, near Ca Sang Pagoda (Srei Krosang), in the coastal village of Vinh Chau commune for people to come and burn incense, worship and pray. Ca Sang Pagoda is still preserved today (in Ward 2, Vinh Chau town, Soc Trang province), and is also the location chosen to hold the Phuoc Bien festival.
Every year, on the full moon day of the second lunar month (ie the full moon day of the 11th lunar month according to the Khmer calendar), monk Ta Hu and some Buddhists set up an altar to pray for people going to sea to have a safe trip and catch a lot of fish and shrimp. The reason for choosing the full moon day of the second lunar month to hold the ceremony is because this is the time when the sea is calm, there is no heavy rain or strong wind, fishermen go to sea smoothly, and harvest a lot of seafood.
Over time, due to meeting the thoughts, aspirations, and spiritual and cultural life, the ritual has been increasingly interested and enthusiastically responded to by many people. Since then, the Phuoc Bien worship ceremony has become a traditional festival not only of the Khmer people but also welcomed by the Kinh and Chinese people in the coastal area of Vinh Chau, who together organize to pray for luck and peace.
Mr. Ly Then, Head of the Management Board of Ca Sang Pagoda, said: Phuoc Bien Festival attracts a large number of Buddhists and local people to come to burn incense, pray for peace and have fun. From day to night, the number of people coming is always crowded, an average of 30,000 to 40,000 people, creating a bustling, vibrant atmosphere of the festival.
In 2025, the Phuoc Bien Vinh Chau festival took place for 2 days (March 12 and 13) attracting a large number of people and Buddhists inside and outside Soc Trang province to participate. Today, the main customs and rituals in the Phuoc Bien festival are still preserved and maintained, such as: the Buddha statue procession, the Buddha greeting ceremony, the Buddha An vi ceremony, the Three Jewels ceremony, the Requiem ceremony, the sea worship ceremony... bearing the cultural characteristics of the Khmer ethnic community.
Besides the sacred and solemn rituals, Phuoc Bien Vinh Chau festival also has many other activities such as: organizing folk games and sports; cultural exchange, traditional arts; Khmer costume performance; folk cuisine; trade and tourism promotion... Thereby, contributing to strengthening the solidarity between the three ethnic groups Kinh - Khmer - Hoa in the coastal land of Vinh Chau.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/doc-dao-di-san-le-hoi-phuoc-bien-cua-dong-bao-khmer-soc-trang-post785813.html
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