Cambodian Traditional Festivals

Cambodian people love family social events, with music and an abundance of food, and the joy of the nation is best experienced during the numerous festivals which now once again are being held throughout the country.

The festivals are considered very important by the entire nation. Tourists are often very moved by witnessing these traditional festivals, wherever they are from and whatever their interests. The festivals are colourful, often Buddhist in nature and beautiful to behold. Whether tourists initially plan to spend their holiday time sight-seeing or lounging by their hotel pool playing party poker, they usually feel captivated and honoured to coincide with a national festival. The festivals give insight to this amazing country, leaving people wishing to know more and return in the near future.

The following is a list of the more important national and regional festivals in the Khmer calendar:

Victory Day - 7 January

Victory Over the Genocidal Regime Day, or Commemoration of the Fall of the Khmer Rouge, marks the end of the Pol Pot led genocide of 1.7 million Cambodians during the 1970s, out of a population of 7 million.

Most of the killings occurred between April 17th, 1975, when the Khmer Rouge assumed power of Cambodia until January 7th, 1979, when after a two-week war with Vietnam, the Vietnamese government invaded ousted Pol Pot and his followers.

The dates April 17th and January 7th are remembered by every Cambodian, for there is virtually no family that did not lose someone during the Khmer Rouge regime.

The genocide was the result of the world's most morbid social experiment. The Khmer Rouge virtually annihilated the middle and upper classes of Cambodia, and did not stop there. Anyone deemed educated or cosmopolitan was killed. Ordinary people could be killed simply because they wore glasses, seen as a sign of literacy.

Bonn Chaul Chhnam
Khmer New Year
Mid April, three days (14-16 April)

Bonn chaul chhnam is the Khmer equivalent of songkran in Thailand and phimai in Laos. Marking the end of the harvest season, it generally lasts for three days, during which time Cambodians clean and decorate their houses, make offerings at the local temple and throw water at each other as a form of blessing. City streets are decorated and brightly lit in the evenings and special cultural, entertainment and sporting events are organised especially for the occasion.

Bonn Visak Bochea
Mid May, one day

This nationwide festival commemorates the day of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death. Held during the sixth full moon of the lunar calendar, it involves chanting, sermons and a candlelite procession to the wat.

Bonn Chort Preah Nongkol
Royal Ploughing Ceremony
Late May, one day

The Royal Ploughing Ceremony dates back to the times when the reigning king traced the first furrows in the capital's sacred rice field, thus inaugurating the ploughing season.

Today, the ritual is performed at the start of the rainy season in late May each year, with representatives of the king taking the role of King Meakh, who leads the yoke and plough, and Queen Mehour, who sows the seeds. After circling the field three times, the procession stops at a shrine where Brahmins invoke the protection of the gods. Sacred cows are then brought to eat from seven silver trays containing such things as rice, corn, beans, sesame seeds, grass, water and wine, and predictions are made for the coming year based upon what they select.

The harvest will be good if they choose the cereals, rain will be abundant if they drink water, but trouble is feared if they eat herbs or drink alcohol.

Bonn Chol Vassa
Start of Buddhist Lent
Mid July, two days

Held to coincide with the eighth full moon of the lunar calendar, this festival marks the beginning of the three-month Buddhist lent, when Buddhist monks fast and meditate. Young men consider this festival auspicious for entering the monkhood.

Constitution Day
24 September

This national holiday celebrates the formal adoption of the Constitution of Cambodia in 1993.

Bonn Dak Ben and Bonn Pchum Ben
Spirit Offering Festival
September-October, 15 days

Bay Ben
(Rice for throwing to the spirits)

Running for 15 days, this festival is dedicated to blessing the spirits of the dead, and is one of the most culturally significant events in Cambodia.

Each household visits its local pagoda and offers food to the monks for their assistance in blessing the souls of late ancestors, relatives and friends.

Pagodas are crowded with people taking their turn to make offerings, with many staying behind to listen to Buddhist sermons.

Bonn Kathen
End of Buddhist Lent
October-November, one month

Starting immediately after the last day of lent and lasting until the next full moon, this religious festival marks the emergence of monks from retreat.

People all over the country form reverent slow processions to their local temple or pagoda to offer them robes and other items, thereby bringing spiritual merit to all participants.

Peace Agreement
23 October

This national holiday celebrates the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement of 1991.

Independence Day
9 November

Each year 9 November is a national holiday, held to celebrate the independence of Cambodia from France in 1953. A gala parade is held in front of the Royal Palace, which includes floats, marching bands and other entertaining festive activities.

Om Touk
Water Festival
Mid November, three days

The Tonle Sap River is the only waterway in the world which flows in opposite directions at different times of the year. For most of the year the river flows out from the lake into the Mekong.

However, during the rainy season from about June to October the Mekong rises, causing the Tonle Sap River to reverse its direction and the lake to swell to more than twice its regular size. At the end of the rainy season, when the water level of the Mekong drops again, the current reverts and flows back into the Mekong. This unique natural phenomenon is celebrated with three days of boat races, fairs, festivals, shows, parades, fireworks, music and dancing.

Art Festivals

Arts festivals in the western sense are a fairly recent development in Cambodia. Since the mid 1990s the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has sought to enhance community awareness of Khmer culture by organising national festivals in a variety of arts disciplines.

These include the National Culture Day, the National Festival of Film and Video, the National Festival of Khmer Cuisine, the National Festival of Khmer Weaving, the National Festival of Kite Flying, the National Festival of Painting and Sculpture and the National Festival of Traditional Music, Chapei and Ayai.

In recent years the area immediately in front of Angkor Wat has become a popular venue for major performances.

Although some of these have taken the form of one-off appearances by international stars, an annual festival of Ramayana dance - currently known as Les nuits d'Angkor - has become a regular fixture and is now regularly supplemented through appearances by overseas artists.

In December 2005 the Phnom Penh Arts Festival (PPAF) was launched as Cambodia's first ever broad-based arts initiative, which aimed to bring together leading arts organisations, local artists and community groups to share the spirit of Cambodian culture. A free event open to all members of the public, the festival seeks to provide a showcase for Cambodian performers, musicians, actors and artists, all of whom offer their time for free.

Reference : Wikipedia