{"id":17078,"date":"2025-03-20T02:54:36","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T09:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.specialeventscambodia.com\/?p=17078"},"modified":"2025-10-12T16:16:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T23:16:30","slug":"festivals-of-cambodia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.specialeventscambodia.com\/festivals-of-cambodia\/","title":{"rendered":"Festivals in Cambodia"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Festivals in Cambodia<\/h1>\n

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\u00a0Pithi Chrat Preah Neanng Korl or Royal Ploughing Ceremony<\/b><\/h2>\n

As an agriculture-based economy, rice growing is an essential aspect of Cambodia. Back to the XIII century, it was the same. Royal family members at that time had used a Hindu ritual in the ancient time to hold a ceremony to wish for a good harvest. It\u2019s also believed to have fortune-telling ability, which allows people to forecast the weather and determine the best way to harvest.<\/p>\n

The Royal Ploughing Ceremony occurs on the fourth day of the sixth month in the lunar calendar. It is organized outside the Royal Palace in the capital state of Phnom Penh. During the ceremony, the King or a picked representative will till a plot of land with a plow driven by two oxen.<\/p>\n

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\"\"People give\u00a0many kinds of treats, including ice, corn, green beans, sesame seeds, freshly-cut grass, water, and rice whiskey to the animals after three rounds. The oxen\u2019s choice of food will predict the condition of the upcoming harvesting season. Rice wine represents a crime. Water forecasts flooding. Grass suggests animal diseases.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Pchum Ben or Ancestors\u2019 Day<\/b><\/h2>\n

While other festivals share some standard features with other traditions in other countries, Pchum Ben or Ancestors\u2019 Day is a unique feature of Cambodia.<\/p>\n

The word Pchum Ben means \u201cto gather together a ball of food.\u201d It\u2019s the day for the Cambodian to show respect and gratefulness to the ancestors of seven generations. It happens\u00a0on the 15th day of the 10th Khmer month, which is equal to October according to the Gregorian calendar. The exact date varies every year, so remember to double-check if you want to join in this mysterious festival.<\/p>\n

Pchum Ben can be compared to Halloween in Western countries, but this former is more formal and serious. The Cambodian believe that the doorway to the hell will be opened on the first day of Pchum Ben, so the spirit of the deceased relatives can reenter the human world. That\u2019s why they prepare a lot of offerings hoping their ancestor can find the merits. Many rituals aims to reduce\u00a0the sins of the ancestors.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0Bonn Om Touk or Water Festival<\/b><\/h2>\n

Despite the similar name with Songkran, Thailand Water Festival, Bonn Om Touk takes place on a completely different day and in a completely different way.<\/p>\n

Cambodian Water Festival is usually in November when the water flow from Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater in Southeast Asia begins to divert to the Mekong river. It marks the end of the rainy season, which brings about the prosperity to the biodiversity of Cambodia. The reversal of the flow from the Tonle Sap River to Mekong river is another aim of the festival.<\/p>\n

During Bonn Om Touk,\u00a0there is\u00a0a wide range of festive activities in Phnom Penh. It is roughly estimated that upon a million Cambodians attend the celebrations in the capital city. Longboats are racing on the Mekong River. Parades with the water theme light up the streets. Fireworks displays make the nightlife more vibrant.<\/p>\n

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\"\"\u00a0Vesak Bochea or Buddha\u2019s Birthday<\/b><\/h2>\n

Vesak Bochea is an as important day as Meak Bochea to Buddhists. It is a three-in-one event in which there are three milestones of the Buddha\u2019s life happened. Vesak Bochea\u00a0is\u00a0not only the date of birth but also the day Gautama Buddha, the ultimate God got enlightened, and even the time when he passed over to nirvana, the ultimate heaven.<\/p>\n

Cambodian celebrate Vesak Bochea on the full moon night of the sixth lunar month, about ten days after the Royal Ploughing Day.<\/p>\n

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To pay homage to the Buddha, the Cambodians will donate foods and clothes to the monks. Some people also go on a fastening day or week to display respect. Temples and pagodas in Cambodia welcome a huge number of visitors from all over the countries on this occassion.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Meak Bochea<\/b><\/h2>\n

As mentioned above, most festivals in Cambodia have something to do with their religion and the first festival of the year, Meak Bochea is the second largest in Buddhism.<\/p>\n

Meak Bochea is also known as M\u0101gha P\u016bj\u0101 or Macha Bucha Day. It is celebrated\u00a0on the fifth of March in the lunar calendar and\u00a0in most of the Buddhist nations, for example: Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

According to the legend, on this day the Buddha and 1,250 of the first disciples had gathered and created an ideal and exemplary community.<\/p>\n

The Cambodian celebrate Meak Bochea in a very traditional way. On the early morning, local people will give offerings, including foods and other necessities to the monks. This practice is nothing different from what they usually do on the other days.<\/p>\n

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The Cambodian celebrate Meak Bochea in a very traditional way<\/em><\/p>\n

However, the offerings on Meak Bochea tend to be more generous, but no money or precious things are given to the monks. Only foods and some necessary items such as clothes, towers.<\/p>\n

After the sun sets, the native resident will flock to the nearby temple, listening to Buddhist preachings. Then they join a candlelit procession. People hold flowers, candle, and incense, walking around the temple for three times in a circle, which represent 3 Buddhist ideas: Buddha (the Holy God), Dharma (the community) and Sangha (the monks).<\/p>\n

\u00a0 Khmer New Year<\/b><\/h2>\n

Choul Chnam Thmey, which can be literally translated into \u201cEnter New Year,\u201d is the time for the Cambodian to celebrates the Lunar New Year. Lunar New Year is a shared concept in many Asian nations like Vietnam, South Korea, China.<\/p>\n

The thing is, Cambodian Lunar New Year doesn\u2019t apply the lunar calendar to count the date. In fact, Choul Chnam Thmey is the only traditional festival in Cambodia to use Gregorian date and month. The holiday will last for three days with the first one falling either on April 13th or April 14th.<\/p>\n

It coincides with the end of the harvest, and all people will return to their hometown for a family get-together. Peole clean up the house and prepare many traditional dishes. Native people also visit their ancestors\u2019 shrines to light up candles and incense as an offering for the pass away.[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”turquoise” border_width=”5″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/mCKit0_ssIg?si=ukr7FIQ15g7hRjC4″ align=”center”][vc_separator color=”turquoise” border_width=”5″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

More events of Cambodia\"\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Festivals in Cambodia [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]     \u00a0Pithi Chrat Preah Neanng Korl or Royal Ploughing Ceremony As an agriculture-based economy, rice growing is an essential aspect of Cambodia. Back to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,210,211],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-news","category-cambodia","category-events"],"yoast_head":"\nFestivals in Cambodia - Special Events Cambodia Royal Ploughing Ceremony-festival-events<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Special Events Cambodia cambodia - Festivals in Cambodia Khmer New Year phnom penh holiday-Royal Ploughing Ceremony-tourism-events\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.specialeventscambodia.com\/festivals-of-cambodia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Festivals in Cambodia - 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