Cambodia Begins Pchum Ben Holidays as Families Gather to Honour Ancestors from October 10 to 12
Cambodia's Pchum Ben public holidays began on October 10 and run through October 12, with families across the country visiting pagodas to offer food, hear chanting and dedicate merit to deceased relatives, according to Agence Kampuchea Presse. It is one of the most important religious festivals in the Cambodian calendar.
Pchum Ben is the culmination of a fifteen-day observance. During the preceding Kan Ben days, communities support their local monasteries and dedicate the merit of their offerings to departed relatives, traditionally remembered across seven generations. The holiday brings family reunions, and roads and stations from Phnom Penh to the provinces see some of their busiest traffic of the year.
AKP previewed the nationwide celebration on October 6 and on October 10 published an account of the festival's themes of remembrance, filial piety and family reunion. Typical offerings include sticky rice balls, steamed rice cakes, fruit and desserts, shared with monks and the poor after chanting.
Many Chinese families in Cambodia blend local custom into their lives, accompanying Cambodian relatives to pagodas during Pchum Ben while also honouring ancestors in Chinese tradition. The Interior Ministry routinely deploys traffic police over the holiday to manage the crowded homebound roads.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 柬埔寨寺庙僧侣实景，摄影：Marcin Konsek，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons（File:2016 Angkor, Angkor Wat, Główna świątynia (25).jpg）
