The Ok Om Bok Festival

DHUBB! Khhhh! DHUBB! Khhhh! DHUBB! Khhhh!One morning, Nhây woke up to the lively beating sound of a pestle banging against a mortar.

"Ah," she thought. "Mum is making green rice!"

Father says, "Today is the Ok Om Bok festival, don’t you remember? Granny and Grandpa are arriving soon."

Now it's afternoon. Nhây runs to meet her grandparents. "What have you bought from the market?" she asks eagerly.

Grandmother shows Nhây the special food in her basket. "I bought these for the Ok Om Bok offerings," Granny says.

Nhây asks her grandfather, "Why do we celebrate Ok Om Bok, Grandpa?"

Grandpa explains gently, "For the Ok Om Bok festival, we make offerings to the Gods and thank them for favourable weather and bountiful crops. Everyone eats today, everyone is fulfilled."

"I want to help, too!" Nhây says. "I'll get some flowers for the village gate."

That evening, the family gathers around the table full of offerings. Nhây fixes her eyes on the green rice dish.

Mum asks, "Nhây, do you remember how to make this delicious green rice?"

First, we must select the best rice kernels.

Second, we roast them over straw fire until they soften. Last, we pound them with a mortar and pestle.

Fourth, we remove all the husk. Fifth, we mix the rest with fine sugar and coconut shavings. "Now I remember, Mum!" says Nhây.

At last, the Ok Om Bok festival begins!

Grandpa asks Nhây, "What do you wish for?" "I wish that my family has lots of love and good health," says Nhây. "And lots of green rice to eat!"

The family hears an excited cry from the street. "Wind lanterns! The wind lanterns are coming!" Nhây and her family step outside. The sky is filled with lanterns floating like flowers in the wind. It is the perfect ending to the Ok Om Bok festival.