Traditional Cambodian Festivals You Should Experience
Cambodia boasts a vivid cultural heritage, which is richly woven with threads of history, spiritual beliefs and tradition. From the graceful traditional dance steps to the wonderful temples of Angkor Wat, culture seeps through every aspect of Cambodian life. With a Cambodia e-Visa you will be able to witness a grand spectacle.
Cambodian Festivals To Check Out
Cambodian festivals are something that are connected deeply to the essence of the country itself. Many of the festivals are celebrations of the Khmer Empire, with its capital in Asia’s most sought after ruins, Angkor Wat.
Cambodians also celebrate cycles of nature, which seep into many of their festivities and celebrations. Remembering the ancestors is also a revered festival in the country.
The variety of celebrations that Cambodians participate in throughout the year makes the culture of Cambodia one that every visitor must experience. Thus, this blog discusses six most important festivals of Cambodia.
Khmer New Year (Choul Chnam Thmey) – The Grandest Celebration
Khmer New Year, which is natively known as “Choul Chnam Thmey”, means entering the new year. This Cambodian festival is a national holiday, wherein people enjoy their leisure time away from harvesting rice.
It takes place over three days, generally lasting from 13th to 15th of April or 14th to 16th of April. Throughout the three days, Cambodians participate in ceremonial rituals such as cleansing Buddha statues and their elders with holy fragrant water and playing traditional games.
These Khmer traditional games include the tossing towel game or “Chol Chhoung”, the scarf-hidden game or “Leak Kon Saeng” or catching the baby hawk in a game called “Chab Kon Kleng”.
This festival also includes the largest feasts, including traditional meals such as “Khmer Fish Amok”, “Kralan” sticky rice cakes, or “Ya Hon”, a traditional Khmer hot pot.
If you are looking to visit Cambodia to fully experience this festival, visit Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, or Cambodian rural villages.
Pchum Ben – The Festival of the Ancestors
Pchum Ben is a festival for family and Ancestral respect. The name comes from Khmer words with “Pchum” meaning gathering together and “Ben” signifying a ball of food. It is a grand Cambodian celebration that lasts 15 days in September to October, during which the Cambodians pay tribute to ancestors reaching back up to seven generations.
The touching faith that guides this festival is that departed loved ones gather at the pagoda, eager for homemade dishes from their families. Often, children cook meals during this festival for their parents as offerings to “household gods”.
The main ceremony of this festival takes place in stages, where the first stage involves visiting pagodas and offering homemade balls of food to the monks and departed ancestors. Afterwards, families gather together in their hometowns, sharing meals and moments, a truly heartwarming celebration of family and togetherness.
To observe the celebrations of this festival, you have to visit Buddhist temples in Phnom Penh and Angkor Wat.
Water Festival (Bon Om Touk) – The Spectacular Boat Races
Bon Om Touk, the Cambodian Water Festival, is the largest and most celebrated festival in Cambodia, and applying to get Cambodian visa online for this festival can be completely worth the experience.
In October-November, when the Tonlé Sap River’s current reverses, flowing towards the great Mekong River, this festival marks the celebration of the rich sediments left behind by the river as aid to the farmers.
This celebration is a spectacle in Phnom Penh, when over 400 Cambodians enter the competition of racing Pirogue longboats and millions flock from all over the country to spectate the race. While the races take place during the daytime, the evening is reserved for celebratory fireworks.
If you are from the UK, gather the documents for a Cambodian visa for UK citizens and visit Phnom Penh during this amazing Cambodian Water Festival.
Meak Bochea – The Spiritual Buddhist Festival
Meak Bochea takes place every year during the full moon of the Khmer month of Magha, and is a holiday in Buddhist Cambodia. The dates vary since it depends on the cycles of the moon.
To experience this festival, make sure to plan your visit to coincide with the first full moon of February, and apply and get Cambodian visa online accordingly.
Meak Bochea commemorates the very last sermon of Lord Buddha, where he summarized the values of Buddhism into three principles: Stopping from all evil, Doing only what is good, Cleansing the mind.
The celebration is conducted in the form of candlelit processions where the believers carry candles, incense sticks and lotus blossoms for three rounds around Pagodas and Buddhist temples.
If you visit a temple during this festival, you become a part of the Cambodian festival, and it is an experience to remember.
Royal Ploughing Ceremony (Preah Reach Pithi Chrot Preah Neang Kol)
The Royal Ploughing Ceremony is held every year in the fourth month of the Lunar Calendar, taking place in either April or May. This festival signifies the beginning of the traditional rice season.
The Cambodian festival is held near the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. The royal cow at the ceremony is said to be able to use its nose to predict the year’s harvest. In this festival, the royal family go to the field to help with the plow and take the cattle to certain grains and cereals, prepared as offerings. The one that the cow chooses predicts the year’s harvest.
One of the most important festivals in Cambodian culture, it is something that foreigners should experience at least once in their lifetime.
Vesak (Visak Bochea) – Buddha’s Birthday
Vesak or Visak Bochea is the celebration of the birthday of Lord Buddha. It takes place according to the Buddhist calendar and in 2025, this festival takes place on May 12th.
While the Cambodian festival takes place on Buddha’s birthday, it is also celebrated in honor of the enlightenment and passing of Buddha, and generally takes place in April or May. This day is marked by meditation, acts of merit and religious ceremonies.
The religious ceremonies include devotees visiting Buddhist temples and offering alms to monks, and joining them to engage in prayers and rituals that reflect on Buddha’s teachings and emphasize fostering spiritual growth.
To witness the Visak Bochea festival in its full glory, you need to tailor your travel plans to visit Siem Reap around April and May, visiting the Buddhist temples of Angkor Wat. If you are a resident of the United Kingdom, prepare your application plans for a Cambodian visa for UK citizens according to the year’s date of the festival.
Other Notable Cambodian Festivals
Discussing only six of the many vibrant festivals of Cambodia does not do justice to the cultural depth of the Southeast Asian nation. Thus, if you want to broaden your horizons, here are a few other notable festivals that are held in Cambodia.
- The Royal Kite Festival is held in December every year, where a kite-flying ceremony is held in fields where the rice is harvested.
- On November 9th, Cambodians celebrate their independence day to mark their achievement of freedom from France in 1953. The independence monument in Phnom Penh is a place to visit on this day to witness this festival.
- The multicultural aspect of the Cambodian populace is also reflected in the celebration of the Chinese and Vietnamese New Year by the Chinese and Vietnamese communities residing in Phnom Penh, Kampong Cham and Battambang.
Ready to Enjoy Cambodia’s Rich Culture?
Cambodia is a country with a deep cultural heritage and the plethora of vivid and vibrant festivals reflect exactly that.
The Cambodian Water Festival, Khmer New Year, Pchum Ben, the Royal Ploughing Ceremony, Meak Bochea, Vesak and other festivals are all grand events and offer deep cultural insights into the history of Cambodia and how that history has shaped the present of the country.
If you wish to visit Cambodia during these festivals, it is ideal to tailor your trip to the height of the celebrations and with that, you will be able to witness the beauty of Cambodia, its culture and the enthusiasm of the people making these celebrations major spectacles.
Check Eligibility for Cambodia e-Visa and apply for Cambodia e-Visa 5 days prior to your scheduled flight to Cambodia. German citizens, Austrian citizens, United States citizens and Swiss citizens are eligible to apply online for Cambodia e-Visa.