Professional Travel Guides for exciting and informative tours of Cambodia Thailand Vietnam and Laos
Glimpse the Inner Beauty of Angkor Discover a Land of Treasure Discover a Land of the Hidden Charm Experience Culture and Tradition Explore the Hidden Side of Laos Experience Culture and Tradition
Click Date to Join Shared Tour
25/Mar/2024 - 25/Mar/2024
Guaranteed Departure - BA1 Option 1 - Join Now
01/Apr/2024 - 01/Apr/2024
Guaranteed Departure - BA1 Option 1 - Join Now
25/May/2024 - 25/May/2024
Guaranteed Departure - BA1 Option 1 - Join Now
06/Aug/2024 - 07/Aug/2024
Guaranteed Departure - BA1 Option 2 - Join Now
11/Nov/2024 - 11/Nov/2024
Guaranteed Departure - BA1 Option 1 - Join Now
22/Mar/2024 - 24/Mar/2024
Guaranteed Departure - Join Now
24/Mar/2024 - 26/Mar/2024
Guaranteed Departure - Join Now
28/Mar/2024 - 30/Mar/2024
Guaranteed Departure - Join Now
16/May/2024 - 18/May/2024
Seat Available for Sharing - Join Now
20/Aug/2024 - 22/Aug/2024
Guaranteed Departure - Join Now
23/Jun/2024 - 23/Jun/2024
Transfer Airport BKK to Bangkok - Join Now
26/Jun/2024 - 30/Jun/2024
Guaranteed Departure - Join Now
01/Apr/2024 - 05/Apr/2024
Guaranteed Departure - Join Now
25/May/2024 - 27/May/2024
Guaranteed Departure - Join Now
16/Jan/2025 - 17/Jan/2025
Celebrity Solstice Cruises to Angkor Wat and Back - Join Now
05/Mar/2025 - 06/Mar/2025
Celebrity Solstice Cruises to Angkor Wat and Back - Join Now

Click here to chat with us
Find us on
Cambodia
Cambodia Tours & Cambodia Tour Packages

News & Events » Read all Cambodia News & Events

There are many interesting traditional religious and cultural ceremonies and festivals throughout the year. They provide a great opportunity to participate in a centuries old tradition of Khmer society. Some of the major festivals and ceremonies are listed below:

Full Moon Day (Meak Bochea)
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
It is a religous celebration day in Buddhism when all Buddhism -disciple and monks gather nearby Buddha who informed and foreseen that Buddha will die within near future and on Full moon.

Khmer New Year Day
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 14-15-16 April 2011
Great Traditional Holiday according to Buddhism religion that Cambodian people gather at pagoda to offer food, cake, drinks and money to monk to dedicated in favor the relative's death, within 3 days celebration.

Full Moon Day (Visak BoChea)
Sunday, 17 April 2011 
It is a great celebration day according to Buddhism religion dedicated for Buddha's birthday, enlightens, death illuminations day and gone away to Nirvana.

Royal Ploughing Ceremony
Monday, 2 May 2011 
It is a Royal Ceremony Day which the King or His representatives inaugurate and ploughing field as symbol to remind people that rainy season arrives and starts stimulating paddy-field to produce rice. This celebration day is usually held in Meru Area close to Royal Palace.

Birthday of King Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni
13-14-15 May 2011 
It is also great holiday for King Birthday that usually held in Royal Palace.

Birthday of Majesty Queen-Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk
18 June 2011
Birthday of Majesty Queen-Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk is usually held in the Royal Palace.

Preah Vihear Temple Rememberance Day, a world heritage site
7 July 2011
A great Celebration Day in which the temple of Preah Vihear was listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2008.

Constitution Day
24 September 2011 
Rememberance Day of the contitution was issued.

Pchum Ben Day
Monday - Wednesday, 26 - 28 September 2011
The importance ofKann Ben
Cambodians believe that although most living creatures are reincarnated at death, due to bad karma, some souls are not reincarnated but rather remain trapped in the spirit world. Each year, for fifteen days, these souls are released from the spirit world to search for their living relatives, meditate and repent. The fifteen-day observance of Prachum Benda, or Ancestors’ Day, is a time for living relatives to remember their ancestors and offer food to those unfortunate enough to have become trapped in the spirit world. Furthermore, it is an important opportunity for living relatives to meditate and pray to help reduce the bad karma of their ancestors, thus enabling the ancestors to become reincarnated and leave the torment and misery of the spirit world.

The period of Prachum Benda:
Prachum Benda,
 better known colloquially as Pchum Ben, may be translated as “gathering together to make offerings” (prachummeaning “gathering together” and benda meaning “offerings”). The observance usually begins in mid-September and lasts an entire lunar cycle, constituting the fifteen days that ancestral spirits are given to visit their living relatives. In the year 2010, the specific dates for its commencement and conclusion are September 24th and October 9th, respectively. 

Pchum Ben
 and the days leading up to it:
Pchum Ben is the fifteenth final day of the observance and consist of a large gathering of laity for festivities at local Buddhist temple. Each day leading up to the fifteenth, however, is also important and special. Different families host services at the temple on each of the fourteen days prior to the final celebration. The days leading up to Pchum Ben are known as Kann Ben (kann meaning “hosting or holding”) and are numbered one through fourteen accordingly.

The importance of Kann Ben:
Prior for the day a family or families are scheduled to host a kann ben, relatives and close family friends will go to the temple to make preparations. During the preparations, urns of ancestors, traditionally kept on the temple grounds, are polished and brought to the viheara (the main chanting room). Also, the names of ancestors are recorded onto an invitation list. This is important because spirits cannot receive offerings unless they are first invited to do so by living relatives. In the evening, the host family and other participants will join the monks in the viheara for meditation and chanting. The monks will then pass on the Buddha’ s teachings, as well as offer blessings and guidance to those present.

The early morning of Kann Ben and the proceedings:
Before sunrise on the morning of the Kann Ben, special food is prepared for the ancestral spirits to enjoy. Favorite dishes of various flavors and colors are offered. They range from the simple and traditional nom ansom (sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves with assorted fillings) to the more elaborate and rich amok (steamed fish fillet marinated in a complex mix of spices and herbs). As a gesture of kindness, the host also prepare bai ben (steamed sticky rice mixed with sesame seeds and then formed onto balls) to be thrown into shaded areas about the temple grounds. This mixture is an offering to the hungry souls who have been forgotten or no longer have living relatives to make them offerings.

Late morning of Kann Ben and the proceedings:
Before noon on Kann Ben, candles and incense are lit and the various dishes are offered to the monks. The prepared list of names is then recited and burned. The reading and burning of the list is a ritual performed to alert and direct the wandering souls to the location of their families. It is an invitation for the ancestral spirits to join their living relatives as they commemorate life. After consuming the proffered meal, the monks continue to chant blessings, sprinkling (or showering) holy water onto the families and their visiting ancestral spirits. The Kann Ben is a time of remembrance and an opportunity to accumulate good karma on behalf of one’s ancestors.   

Reason why Pchum Ben is the most important day:
The rituals of Kann Ben continue for fourteen days. On the fifteenth day, the traditionally observed Pchum Ben, families in the local area gather to perform the same ritual of ancestral remembrance and offer an immense communal feast. This day is especially important because if any ancestors are unfortunate enough to have become Priad spirits, it is the only day that they may receive offerings of food and benefit from the good karma earned by their relatives. Priads are the most miserable of all souls due to their exceptional bad karma. Unlike other spirits, Priads fear light and can only receive prayers, food and be reunited with their living relatives during the darkest day of this lunar cycle, the day of Pchum Ben. 

The importance of Pchum Ben:
Participating in the Pchum Ben, whether as a host or participant, is a very important aspect of Cambodian culture. It is a time of reunion and commemoration. It is a time to express love and appreciation for one’s ancestors. By offering food and good karma to those possibly trapped in the spirit world, living relatives help assuage their misery and guide them back into the cycle of reincarnation. After the ancestors are reincarnated, they have the opportunity to accumulate good karma on their own and look forward to attaining a peaceful inner spirit, which is the best blessing a living relative can wish for their ancestors.  

King Coronation's Day
29 October 2011
Rememberance Day when the King was coronated.

His Majesty King Father Birthday
31 October 2011
It is also great holiday for King Birthday that usually held in Royal Palace.

National Indepence Day
9 November 2011
It is a national holiday to remember the time when Cambodia was declared independent from the French colony in 1953.

Water Festival
Thursday - Saturday 10 -12 November 2011
It is a great Traditional Holidays that on this season water flows back from Tonle Sap river to Mekong river. It last 3 days ceremonies with racing boat on Tonle Sap River in front of Royal Palace presided first day and end of ceremony by King or His representative. There are also 3 night’s corteges of boat-light of each ministry after ending of each racing day till early morning on the next day.

Human Rihgts Day
10 December 2011
It is a very important day and the most interesting one. People are very happy with this holiday and its meanings.