Pchum Ben, also known as “Ancestors’ Day”, is a 15-day festival celebrated in Cambodia. It is one of the most important religious festivals in the country and is a time for families to come together and pay respects to their ancestors.
The festival begins on the first day of the tenth month in the lunar calendar and culminates on the fifteenth day. During this time, families will visit the local pagodas to make offerings of food and flowers to the spirits of their ancestors. They will also light candles and incense, and say prayers for the departed.
On the final day of the festival, a special ceremony is held at the pagodas to release the spirits of the ancestors from their earthly bonds. It is believed that after this ceremony, the ancestors’ spirits will be free to move on to the next
Pchum Ben is a Cambodian holiday that honors the dead. It is believed that during this fifteenth-day ceremony, the spirits of the dead are able to return to earth to visit their families. Families will offer food and gifts to the spirits, as well as perform ceremonies to help the spirits move on to the next life.
Pchum Ben is a 15-day festival celebrated by Cambodians. It is a time to remember and pay respect to ancestors.
Preparations for the festival begin weeks in advance. Families clean their houses and make new clothes to wear during the festivities. Food is prepared and offerings are made to the spirits of the dead.
On the first day of the festival, people dress in their new clothes and go to the temple to make offerings and say prayers. The next 14 days are spent visiting different temples and making offerings.
Pchum Ben is a time of joy and remembrance. It is a time to come together as a community and celebrate the lives of those who have come before us.
The first day starts in the afternoon and ends at noon on the second day and goes on like this for 15 days.
Days 1 to 14 are called Kan Ben days and Day 15 is called Pchum Ben day.
The afternoon program is mostly about offering drinks to monks and food for people who joins.
The morning program normally starts at 4 am, beginning with monks saying and singing words to remind them about Dharma and more. Buddhists start to come to the pagoda with incense, candles, flowers, and the “Bai Ben” packed in banana leaves. Bai Ben is sticky rice balls cooked with a few light ingredients. After the monks finished, the last thing to do is walk around the temple throwing sticky rice balls in the belief that their ancestors’ spirits come to eat them. This is right before the sunrises.
Then the next program is about offering monks things and food in the belief that good deeds help those spirits or souls as well.
The Pchum Ben ceremony is a 15-day event that is celebrated by the Cambodian people. It is a time to remember and pay respects to one’s ancestors. The word “Pchum” means “to stack” and “Ben” means “offerings”. During this time, people offer food and gifts to their ancestors’ spirits.
The ceremony begins on the first day of the lunar calendar and continues for 15 days. On the first day, people clean their houses and offer food to the monks. The second day is when people visit the graves of their ancestors and offer food and gifts. On the third day, people offer food to the poor and needy. This continues for the next 12 days, with different activities on each day.
On the fifteenth and final day, people go to the temple and offer food to the monks. They also burn incense and candles, and say prayers for their ancestors.
Gallery during Pchum Ben’s Day
Auntie and her son at the pagoda
My cousins at the pagoda
Auntie and her niece at the pagoda
Cousin and her family
Lunch giving to elders in the family
Num Ansam, popular rice cakes during Pchum Ben Festive month
Give money and food to the parents and grand parents
Gifts for poor and old people
Offerings for monks at the pagoda
Offerings for monks at the pagoda
an activity during Pchum Ben ceremony
an activity during Pchum Ben ceremony
