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Pchum Ben Day .

Pchum Ben Day is a Cambodian festival lasting 15 days in October where people honor their ancestors by bringing offerings to pagodas and praying. Families prepare food before dawn on the first day to take to pagodas and throw as offerings, then spend the day making more offerings and prayers. The last day involves floating boats with more offerings to symbolically send ancestors back.

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692 views

Pchum Ben Day .

Pchum Ben Day is a Cambodian festival lasting 15 days in October where people honor their ancestors by bringing offerings to pagodas and praying. Families prepare food before dawn on the first day to take to pagodas and throw as offerings, then spend the day making more offerings and prayers. The last day involves floating boats with more offerings to symbolically send ancestors back.

Uploaded by

Yin Sambo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Pchum Ben Day

When the sun sets low and night takes its place, Cambodian people honor their
ancestors with gratitude and love on Pchum Ben Day. This is the night part of the
Cambodian traditional festival. The festival lasts for fifteen days and is celebrated every
year in October. It is the most important festival for Cambodian people. There are some
processes that Khmer people follow to celebrate Pchum Ben Day.
Pchum Ben Day always starts on the first day of Pheak Troboth in the Lunar
calendar. Cambodian people often buy rice, candles, fruits, incense, and some food
before the ceremony. On the first day of Pchum Ben Day, people wake up at three in the
morning to cook rice in order to make sticky rice or rice balls. When the sticky rice is
cooked, they put it on a plate along with lit candles and take it to the pagoda at 4 in the
morning. When they arrive, they pray along with the monks and priests. Then they
throw the rice balls, hoping to help hungry ghosts. That is the most wonderful time that I
have with my family when we throw the sticky rice near the temple in the pagoda.
In the morning, Cambodian families prepare food and go to the Pagoda. Before
heading to the pagoda, they always prepare food for the gods at home. Children provide
enough food to their parents first before taking food to the pagoda because they consider
it a good gesture of children towards their parents. For their ancestors, they take the food
to the pagoda and offer it to the monks to pray for their ancestors to have enough food
and to move on to a good place after life.
During Pchum Ben Day, Cambodian families mostly go to the pagoda, while
some people clean their ancestors' graveyards to show respect and gratitude. They offer
flowers, incense, food, and invite monks to pray for them as well. On the last day of the
festival, Cambodian people go to the pagoda similar to the first day. However, they
make a boat. Inside the boat, there are fruits, rice, money, food, and more, symbolizing
that they are sending their ancestors back to their place.
The process that Cambodians follow every year has never changed because it is
part of Khmer culture and has been practiced since a long time ago. Pchum Ben Day
holds a special place in Cambodia's heart, reminding them of their parents and ancestors
who have passed away. Pchum Ben Day is also the best day for Cambodian people to
perform good deeds.

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