Cambodian Festival

CAMBODIA&SPECIAL FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

Cambodia has a wealth of traditional and international festivals. Most of these are a time of great rejoicing for the predominantly rural populace, many of whom flock to the capital to join in the celebrations and witness the organized fireworks displays which accompany the festivals. It is at these times the nation unites with a shared common understanding of values and traditions and they are looked forward to with great expectation. Even in times of hardship people try even harder to make these times special. All the traditional festivals are influenced by the concepts of Buddhism, Hinduism and royal cultures. The following are the most important of the celebrations organized throughout the year.



Cambodia  Festivals & Major Events


January
International New Year's Day: a public holiday celebrated with much the same zest as in other parts of the world.

National Day (7 January): celebrates the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge regime by the Vietnamese with Cambodian rebel assistance in 1978–9.

Chinese Lunar New Year and Vietnamese New Year (Tet): held in late January or early February. There are large communities of Chinese and Vietnamese in Phnom Penh and other cities. Many shops close for three days. While the exploding of thousands of firecrackers is banned in Vietnam, it is still possible to witness this spectacle in Vietnamese-settled parts of Cambodia.

Magha Bochea: falls at the time of the January/February full moon; celebrates the gathering of 1,200 disciples to witness the Buddha"s last sermon. Candlelit processions take place at temples where devout Buddhists circle the main temple building in a clockwise direction three times.

February
Friendship Day (1 February): celebrates the signing of the Friendship Treaty between Vietnam and Cambodia in 1980.

March
International Women's Day (8 March): parades with floats are held in many towns around the country.

April
Chaul Chnam or Cambodian New Year (13–15 April): a three-day festival involving a lot of water-throwing similar to those in Laos, Thailand and Burma (Myanmar); also offerings are made at temples and houses are cleaned. This is a time of year for many overseas Khmers to return home. Children all over the country build miniature sand stupas in representation of Mount Meru.

Buddha's birthday is a national holiday where the celebrations are centered around the temples. It is based on the lunar calendar, and is usually in April or May. Every temple will be decorated for the event, but the larger ones have hundreds of lanterns hanging along the roadways and in the temple grounds; the faithful line up for the symbolic bathing of the baby Buddha. Jogye-sa in Seoul (and some of the other large temples) has a candlelight parade along with day-long events.

May
International Workers' Day (1 May).

Genocide Day (9 May): a solemn day commemorating the victims of the Khmer Rouge.

Bon Choat Preah Nengkal or Ploughing of the Holy Furrow. In mid to late May; this marks the beginning of the rice-planting season. It is usually led by the royal family and was originally a Hindu rite. The sacred oxen are offered various foods to eat by the Brahmin priests, and from their choice of beans, maize, rice etc. the bounty of the coming harvest can be predicted.

Vesak Buchea (full moon) Commemorates the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and entry into nirvana.

June
Armed Forces Day (19 June).

July
Chol Vassa or Buddhist Lent. Traditionally the most auspicious time for young Cambodian males to join the monkhood. Originally men spent the whole of the rainy season (three months) in the temples, but these days it is more usual to only spend two or three weeks.

September
Bon Kathen or the end of Buddhist Lent. Exact dates are decided by the lunar calendar and can sometimes fall in early October. Offerings are made to ancestors and devout Buddhists, and those wishing to accrue merit give monks new robes and other offerings. This important festival lasts for 29 days.

Bon Dak Ben or "Spirit Commemoration Festival" In late September; lasts for 15 days and culminates at full moon in Bon Prachum Ben which is the Cambodian equivalent of All Souls' Day. Ancestors are remembered and respects are paid with offerings at temples throughout the country.

October
Bon Om Tuk (Water Festival). This celebrates the beginning of the dry season. The current in the Sap River reverses at this time of the year and begins to empty back into the Mekong. Boat races are held in Phnom Penh, and monks at many temples around the country will row ceremonial boats. Again this celebration is dependent on the lunar calendar and can sometimes fall in early November.

King Sihanouk's Birthday (31 October). There is a spectacular fireworks display after sunset by the riverfront at the Royal Palace.

November
Independence Day (9 November): marks independence from France in 1953 and Khmer National Day. There are grand parades in front of the Royal Palace with spectacular floats, marching bands and banners highlighting Cambodia's national achievements.

December
National Reconstruction Day (2 December).

International Human Rights Day (10 December).


National Day (January 7)

One of the more recent additions to the festival calendar, this day marks the end of the Khmer Rouge regime. However for many Khmers it also marks the start of the Vietnamese regime seen as another period of foreign occupancy.


Chinese New Year (January or February)

Due to the large number of people of Chinese descent who run much of Cambodia’s business enterprises and Vietnamese immigrant communities, the Chinese New Year is widely celebrated, especially in Phnom Penh. No Chinese festival would be complete without fireworks and this time of year is no exception with many wealthy families organizing their own private displays which light up the skies for all to see.


International Women's Day

UNESCO Phnom Penh is sponsoring the Ministry of Women’s Affairs of Cambodia to organize country wide celebrations to mark International Women’s Day on March 8.

Events organised by the Ministry include the following:

• A cultural show at a large market in Phnom Penh on March 5 where T-shirts promoting women’s rights will be distributed among the audience.
  
• A drama show on Match 7 that will be attended by the Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife at the main Theatre.
  
  UNESCO is also supporting a Project Against Domestic Violence in Kampot province where activities such as drama, question/answer sessions and seminars have been organised at the occasion of the celebration of 8 March. Teachers and students of the non-formal education sector will participate in the events on 8 March 2005.

Khmer New Year’s Day (Mid April)

Celebrated at the same time as the Thai New Year all over the country this festival marks the turn of the year based on the ancient Khmer calendar and also marks the end of the harvest done during the year. Cambodians decorate their homes to please the ‘Heaven God’ and many people can been seen on the streets armed with small bags of water and water pistols to ‘bless’ people passing by. This festival is one of the happiest times of the year with joyous smiling faces everywhere you turn. Cambodians do recognize International New Year on 1 January but there are no celebrations then.


Chaul Chhnam

This Cambodian New Year celebration is the equivalent of Songkran in Thailand and follows the end of the harvest season. Generally lasting for three days from 14-16 April during which time Cambodians douse each other liberally with water, clean and decorate their houses, and make offerings at the local temple. City streets are decorated and brightly lit in the evenings. There are cultural shows, entertainment, and competitive games.


Royal Plowing Day (May)

Cambodia has a deep connection with the Earth and farming, and there is a deep astrological belief that the Ox has an instrumental role in determining the fate of the agricultural harvest each year. Every year, in May, this cultural ceremony takes place in the large park next to the Royal Palace and in front of the National Museum. The King plays a key role in driving the Ox and depicting real plowing activities in the process of growing rice. The Ox is given a selection of foods and beverages to consume and the royal soothsayers interpret what the Ox has eaten. For this festival both men and women can be seen wearing brightly colored traditional Khmer costume.


King Sihanouk’s birthday celebration (October 31st)

This celebration revering the country’s influential king takes place in late October or early November. People from all over the country come to the capital to join in celebrations and festivities held throughout the capital. Often the King’s birthday and Water festivals coincide resulting in a mammoth celebration in front of the Royal Palace and along the riverfront. Provincial villagers who would ordinarily have no reason to visit Phnom Penh will save up and make this occasion their sole visit to the capital.


Water Festival (October or November)

This vast festival is probably the most extravagant festival in the calendar. Over three days starting with the last full moon day in October or the beginning of November up to a million people from all walks of life from all over the country flock to the banks of the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers in Phnom Penh to watch hundreds of brightly colored boats with over 50 paddlers battle it out for top honors. The boat racing dates back to ancient times marking the strength of the powerful Khmer marine forces during the Khmer empire. In the evening brightly decorated floats cruise along the river prior to and complimenting the fireworks displays. There is often a parallel festival at Angkor Wat and although it is smaller in scale it is just as impressive due to the backdrop of Angkor Wat.

The festival marks the changing of the flow of the Tonle Sap and is also seen as thanksgiving to the Mekong river for providing the country with fertile land and abundant fish. It is at this time when the river flow reverts to its normal down stream direction. The remarkable phenomenon that is the Tonle Sap sees the river flowing upstream during the rainy season and then change direction as the rains cease and the swollen Tonle sap lake empties back into the Mekong river leaving behind vast quantities of the fish.


Independence Day

This important ceremony takes place on the 9th of November at the site of the Independence Monument at the junction of Norodom and Sihanouk Boulevards. This ceremony celebrates Cambodia’s gaining of independence from France in 1953. All over the city flags adorn the shop fronts and bunting stretched over all the main thoroughfares as a sign of national pride.


Angkor Festival

This festival is held either in November or December and is a showcase of performing arts with Angkor Wat as a backdrop. Performers from all over Asia attend this festival performing great epic stories from myths and legends, including the Ramayana, with their own national dance costumes and musical and rhythmic interpretations. King Sihanouk often attends when he is in residence in Siem Reap and other dignitaries come to witness this wonderful spectacle.


International Half Marathon (Late December)

This International Half Marathon is held at Angkor Wat and attracts competitors from all over the world. Thousands of people come to see this international event held in the spectacular setting that is Angkor.


Pchum Ben (September) 

This is the most culturally and religiously significant event of the year and is celebrated in September. This festival of souls concentrates on blessing the souls of ancestors, relatives and friends who have passed away. All Buddhist temples, especially Wat Phnom, are the focal points for this festival and most Cambodians visit the temples to make traditional offerings and pray.

International Human Rights Day (10 December)

Today, on Human Rights Day, almost 1500 people will be killed by conventional arms, as they are every day. The right to life was the most basic human right agreed upon in the UN on this day 55 years ago. This year’s Human Rights Day is being marked by a growing chorus of presidents, governments, and members of the global public pledging their support for tough arms controls.

The political leaders of Brazil, Cambodia, Mali, Macedonia, Costa Rica, Finland and the Netherlands have pledged their support for an international Arms Trade Treaty. This landmark announcement comes just two months after the Control Arms campaign was launched by Amnesty International, Oxfam and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA).

Since the launch of the Control Arms campaign on 9 October 2003, tens of thousands of people have added their faces to the Million Faces Petition, calling on governments to control the arms trade - over 55, 000 in Cambodia alone.

“The fact that governments as well as people from all over the world are showing their support is a very important signal for people living in armed conflicts who suffer from horrendous human rights violations. If governments are serious in the fight for human rights they must control the arms trade,” said Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

“Today, fifty-five years after the declaration of human rights was signed, we’re please to see a developing commitment to back up the declaration by controlling the weapons which are responsible for so many human rights violations. We are seeing the first vital steps towards bringing the arms trade under control, “ said Barbara Stocking, Director of Oxfam Great Britain.

“This progress is fantastic news for people who live in fear of armed violence across the world. After decades of an explosion in arms proliferation, governments are beginning to listen to their citizens demands for change,” said Sally Joss, IANSA Regional Network Coordinator.

Brazil's President Lula confirmed his readiness to play a key role in pushing for an international treaty to control arms in a recent meeting with Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International. This reflects his concern about human rights abuses flowing from gun violence in Brazil, He committed himself to: "...undertake all efforts to build a network and create a positive balance in favor of arms control."

Announcing Finland’s support on Human Rights Day, Mr Erkki Tuomioja, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs said, “Now is the time to proceed in creating international rules for the arms trade… Finland from its own part is ready to support the process towards an Arms Trade Treaty.”

Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia said, “As a country that has been severely affected by weapons, Cambodia will support the international Arms Trade Treaty. The Royal Government of Cambodia is committed to controlling weapons … which have such a great impact on humanity, society, the economy and peace"

Atzo Nicolaï ,the Minister for European Affairs for the Netherlands, speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister, said, “The government strives to the realization of legally binding international agreements on export controls…over small arms and light weapons.”

Amadou Toumani Touré, President of Mali, a country that has been at the forefront of efforts to address the arms crises in west Africa, said, “Mali is honored to launch the Control Arms campaign and we fully support it. Mali will play its role in pushing for tougher international arms controls... across the African continent."