Cambodian festivals
2010 / 2011

Last updated: 1st June 2010.

Public Holidays in Cambodia are announced by the King in August of the preceeding year. For this reason, prior to August 2010, any dates provided on this or any other website, regarding festivals in 2011, are at best approximations. In order to provide responsible information, AdventureBimbling have chosen to provide festival dates from 2010, and we will update the dates for 2011 as soon as they are confirmed.

Liberation Day

7th Jan 2010 / 7th Jan 2011

Liberation day, also known as Victory Day over Genocide, celebrates the fall of the Khmer Rouge on January 7th 1979. The colourful ceremony is held at the Independence monument, (Vimean Ekareach), and is a festival of remembrance for those who lost their lives during the genocide and the retaking of the country.

Meak Bochea

30th Jan 2010 / TBA 2011

Note: Additional holiday on 1st due to weekend.

Meak Bochea Day is an important Buddhist celebration that marks a spontaneous gathering of 1,250 monks to listen to Buddha’s sermons. The gathering is attributed to four miracles occurring nine months after Buddha’s enlightenment, on the day of the full moon during the third lunar month. At this miraculous gathering Buddha preached a seminal sermon outlining the principles upon which, Buddhism is founded. Today Meak Bochea is a colourful festival with monks gathering at the temples and praying from Buddhist scriptures. The wats fill with Cambodians who come to pray and offer tributes of food to the monks.

The Tet Festival, Chinese New Year of the Tiger

13th – 15th Feb 2010 / 3rd Feb 2011

Chinese New Year is not an official holiday in Cambodia but, it is a widely celebrated festival, in spite of that fact. Many shops and businesses are closed, with local Cambodians visiting their family and friends, taking offerings of special food and other treats. Later in the day people often pay tribute to their diseased relatives at local pagodas. They take along some personal possessions or money and burn them as offerings to the spirits.

International Women’s Day

8th Mar 2010 / 8th March 2011

International women’s day is an official holiday in Cambodia. This year, participants and speakers from five Battambang districts and Phnom Penh will gather at the U.S. Embassy’s American Corner at the University of Management and Economics. The main attraction will be a girl empowerment workshop to inspire young women to pursue their education. The day will provide young local girls the opportunity to meet role models from a variety of backgrounds and build a network to help them achieve success.

Khmer New Year

14th – 16th Apr 2010 / 14th - 16th Apr 2011

Khmer New Year is the biggest traditional festival in the Cambodian calendar and is celebrated for three days following the end of the harvest. The celebrations mark the turning of the New Year according to the Buddhist lunar calendar.

The first day of the New Year, ‘Moha Sangkran’, is when local Cambodians clean and decorate their houses. Offerings of fresh fruits and drinks are prepared in order to welcome in their ‘new angels’. In the morning, Khmer people visit their local temples and make offerings of food to the monks in exchange for a blessing. They pray and meditate, in the belief that this will bring an angel into their home to protect their family for the year.

The second day of Khmer New Year is called ‘Wanabot’, this means the offering of gifts to parents, grandparents and elders. Cambodian families like to exchange gifts on this day and offer charity to the less fortunate. Young children are encouraged to take gifts to their teachers as a sign of respect. People gather at their local temples to add sand to a developing sand mountain, this is believed to produce more health and happiness in their lives.

The final day of Khmer New Year is called ‘Loeung Sakk’. In the morning Cambodians gather at the local temple to witness the blessing of the mountain of sand. In the evening they bathe the monks, statues of Buddha, elders, parents and grandparents as repentance for wrongdoings. During the third day the people also participate in traditional games and dances.

The best place to participate in the New Year festivities is widely considered to be Phnom Penh. In particular, the area surrounding Wat Phnom.

Visakha Bochea

28th Apr 2010 / TBA 2011

Visakha Bochea is a religious festival celebrating the birth, enlightenment and passing away of Buddha. Cambodians march in procession towards a pagoda where the monks are waiting to exchange their old saphron robes for new ones.

Labour Day

1st May 2010 / 1st May 2011

Labour Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers and is held throughout the world.

Royal Ploughing Ceremony

2nd May 2010 / TBA 2011

Note: Additional holiday on 3rd due to weekend.

The Royal Ploughing Ceremony has been an annual tradition for many centuries. The traditional ceremony is used to mark the onset of the rainy season, and dictates when the farmers must prepare their fields for the next crop of rice. This year the Ceremony, ‘Pithi Chrat Preah Neang Korl’, will be held at the Veal Preahmein Square, situated across the road from the northern perimeter of the Royal Palace, Phnom Penh. Cambodian farmers will be waiting anxiously as the traditional ceremonies are undertaken to try and predict the weather for the coming year. The festival consists of a symbolic ploughing procession before his majesty King Norodom Sihanouk. At the end of the procession, harnesses are removed from the oxen and they are led to seven golden trays containing rice, corn, sesame seeds, beans, grass, water and wine. The oxen are allowed to eat from any of the trays and, depending upon their choice of feed, the Cambodian people believe that they can prognosticate the weather for the coming year and determine the harvests.

King Sihamoni’s Birthday

13th – 15th May 2010 / 13th - 15th May 2011

Note: Additional holiday on 17th due to weekend.

King Norodom Sihamoni was born on May 14th, 1953. Each year during the kings, birthday a fireworks display is held by the riverside at the front of the Royal Palace, Phnom Penh.

King Mother’s Birthday

18th Jun 2010 / 18th Jun 2011

Although there is no festival on this day it is regarded as a public holiday throughout Cambodia.

Bonn Pchum Ben

7th – 9th Oct 2010 / TBA 2011

Note: Additional holiday on 11th due to weekend.

Bonn Pchum Ben is a Cambodian religious festival blessing the souls of dead ancestors, relatives and friends. For 15 days people take turns, offering food to the monks of their local pagoda. Cambodians hope that each tribute will reach the souls of their dead ancestors through the religious sermons of the monks. On the final day of Bonn Pchum Ben at every pagoda around the country, the offerings are dedicated en masse to the souls of the ancestors. If a family fails to carry out this important duty, a soul is cursed and will haunt the family until the end of the year. On the last day of the ceremony visitors will be able to observe throngs of people at the pagodas regaled in their full traditional costume.

King Sihamoni Coronation Day

29th Oct 2010 / 29th Oct 2011

King Norodom Sihamoni was inaugurated and formally anointed as King on Friday, 29 October 2004. Each year the king’s coronation is celebrated with a fireworks display, held by the riverside, at the front of the Royal Palace, Phnom Penh.

Independence Day

9th Nov 2010 / 9th Nov 2011

This ceremony is held in the morning at the independence monument, (junction of Norodom and Sihanouk Boulevards). The ceremony is held in celebration of Cambodia gaining independence from France in 1953 and is often attended by the king. In the evening there is a fireworks display, held by the riverside, at the front of the Royal Palace, Phnom Penh.

Water Festival

20th – 23nd Nov 2010 / TBA 2011

The water festival, (Bon Om Touk), is a highly regarded festival in Cambodia and marks an incredible phenomenon, the reversing of the flow of the Tonle Sap River. During the monsoon season, the water levels of the lower Mekong become so high that the water is forced to flow back up the river into Tonle Sap Lake. The lake swells, reaching ten times its original size. The festival is also an indicator, for local Cambodian people, that it is time to start the fishing season, a great additional source of income.

Approximately 10% of Cambodia’s population attend the event each year and join in with the games and festivities, watch the fireworks and attend the spectacular boat race.

The best place to join in the festivities has to be the capital Phnom Penh, but the festival is also celebrated, on a smaller scale, in Siem Reap.

Angkor Wat International Half Marathon

5th Dec 2010 / TBA 2011

The Angor Wat international half marathon draws hundreds of visitors, from all over the world, to participate for charitable causes. The event has been running since 1996 for the benefit of landmine victims and other pressing issues within Cambodia. Running amongst the temples, ruins and lush jungle whilst the sun shines down through the morning mist is a rare and literally breathtaking opportunity. Although the main event is the half marathon, there are a number of courses designed for people of all ages and abilities. In addition, and due to popular demand, this year’s event will see the first Angok Wat bike race and rally to be held the day prior, on Saturday 4th December.

Human Rights Day

10th Dec 2010 / 10th Dec 2011

Human rights day is an official public holiday in Cambodia. The streets are lined with banners celebrating the principals of human rights. The event will sometimes attract public demonstrations.

International New Year’s Eve

31st Dec 2010 / 31st Dec 2011

With the influx of tourists and ex-patriots, International New Year has become more and more popular in Cambodia, although it is not a traditional Cambodian festival.

Cambodia festivals 2011

International New Year’s Day 1st Jan 2011
Liberation Day 7th Jan 2011
Meak Bochea TBA
Chinese New Year 3rd Feb 2011
International Womens Day 8 Mar 2011
Khmer New Year 14th – 16th Apr 2011
Labour Day 1 May 2011
Royal Ploughing Ceremony TBA
Visakh Bochea TBA
King Sihamoni’s Birthday 13th – 15th May 2011
Bonn Pchum Ben TBA
King Sihamoni’s Coronation Day 29th Oct 2011
Water Festival TBA
Independence Day 9 Nov 2011
Human Rights Day 10 Dec 2011

Public holiday dates are subject to change, astrological interpretation, and regional variation. To the best of our knowledge the information provided is accurate, and has been thoroughly researched. However, the information provided is only a guide, we will take no responsibility for any loss arising from its use.