Holidays in Cambodia

National New Year

The first of January is the International New Year. Everyone around the world celebrates. They are happy with their holiday. We say goodbye to the old year and enjoy the new year.

Victory Day

This day is a day where Khmer people have a new start. The Khmer Rouge Regime lasted for three years, eight months and twenty days, and Victory day marks the end. No Cambodian person can ever forgot this day or the horrible things that happened during the Khmer Rouge regime. More than two million Cambodian people were killed by the Khmer Rouge or the Pol Pot Regime.

Chinese New Year

January-February. Lunar New Year is celebrated widely around the country by Cambodia's Chinese and Vietnamese communities. Although it is not a public holiday in Cambodia, many businesses are closed at this time.

Women's Day

This is a day for Woman's rights. Women celebrate all over the world. They want to show that women are important, and that we have the same rights as men. Over the years, the International Women's Day (IWD) movement has grown as more women in developing nations become aware that they have human rights equal to men, and they are not second class citizens. It has been already proven that a women can learn and do anything a man can, and sometimes even better.

Khmer New Year

Mid April, three days. Khmer New Year is the Khmer equivalent of Songkran in Thailand and Phimai in Laos. This day marks the end of the harvest season and generally lasts for three days. At this time Cambodians clean and decorate their homes, make offerings at the local temple, and throw water at each other as a way of blessing themselves. City streets are decorated and brightly lit in the evenings. Special cultural events are held, and there is entertainment and sporting events which are organised especially for the New Year.

Bonn Visak Bochea

Occurs on the 15th Keit of Meak (Margarisha) or the full moon of the 3rd month. We celebration this day to commemorate the day that Buddha found enlightenment and entered Nirvana. Cambodian people who believe in Budhha bring some food to celebrate at the pagoda.

Royal Ploughing Ceremony

In late May, the Royal Ploughing Ceremony happens. This ceremony dates back to the times when the king at that time made the first furrows in the capital's sacred rice field, and that is how we start the ploughing season. Now the ceremony is done at the start of the rainy season in late May each year. 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 rice, corn, beans, sesame seeds, grass, water and wine. Predictions are made for the coming year based upon what the cows eat. 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 wine.

Bonn Chol Vassa

The start of Buddhist lent is for two days in Mid July. This festival is held to coincide with the eighth full moon of the lunar calendar. It marks the beginning of the three-month Buddhist lent, when Buddhist monks fast and meditate. Young men consider this festival a good time of the year for entering the monkhood.

Constitution Day

September 24. Cambodia is a newly formed Democracy, and this is a national holiday where we celebrate the formal adoption of the Constitution of Cambodia in 1993.

Mid Autumn Festival

September-October. Chinese and Vietnamese communities throughout Cambodia celebrate this festival during the middle of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. The Mid Autumn Festival is a time for moon cakes and lanterns.

Bonn Dak Ben and Bonn Pchum Ben

Pchum Ben is a celebration that occurs on the 15th Roaj of Badrapadha. This celebration is very important for all Cambodian families. During this celebration Hell opens its gates for 15 days to allow the souls that have bad karma from their past lives to come out to this world. The souls can visit their relatives and receive offerings through the monks’ chanting of the Dharma. We pray to transfer the merits to our ancestors and deceased relatives. We ask the cattle for their forgiveness after a long year of labor by feeding them good food. We offer new clothing and gifts to our parents who are alive, and ask for their forgiveness for all the things that we may have said or done wrong, intentionally or not.

Independence Day

This picture shows November 09, 2008, the 55 anniversary of the Cambodian Independence Day and the first big event to celebrate during the Coronation Day of His Majesty the King Sihamoni. His Majesty the King Sihamoni honorably sat on the stage in front of the Royal Palace Platform to celebrate the Independence Day, which were the achievements of his father, King Norodom Sihanouk during 1945.

Water Festival

The Bonn Om Touk or Water Festival is celebrated in mid November for a period of three days. The Tonle Sap River is the only major waterway in the world which flows in an opposite direction during 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.