| Important Facts about Pchum Ben 2025 📆 Date: 21st September-23rd September, 2025 ✅No of Days: 15 Days 🥳Public Holiday: 3 Days 👚Dress code: White funeral color clothing |
What Does Pchum Ben Stand For?
Pchum Ben, PhchĹm BÄ•nd or Sen Don Ta in Khmer, means “balled rice gathering” or “offering for ancestors.” After the Khmer New Year in April, the Phchum Ben is an important religious holiday in Cambodia, celebrated for 15 days on the 15th day of the 10th month in the Khmer Calendar and the end of Buddhist Lent, Vassa.
What is Pchum Ben Day?
The Cambodian Buddhist believes the ancestor’s soul is released for 15 days. On these days, foods are cooked for the monks to generate merits that will benefit them in death.
Pchum Ben 2025 Dates
This year, the Pchum Ben festival will be celebrated from September 21 to September 23.
Journeying Amidst Pchum Ben
If you are planning to visit during this auspicious festival, do note that there will be a public holiday 2024 from 21st to 23rd September as people will visit their hometowns and reunite with families.
The majority of the tourist hub and sightseeing will be empty because of the public holiday. Shops, including malls, will be closed. Bus tickets fill up fast as most of the people travel back home, hence it is recommended to book your tickets online in advance. Hotel rooms, too, are hard to find.
How to Celebrate Pchum Ben?
Dak Ben: The First 14 Days
The Pchum Ben Festival lasts for 15 days to honour the previous seven generations of ancestors. The first 14 days are “Kan Ben” where the families gather at the nearby pagodas to offer food and prayers to their ancestors and save them from bad karma. It is believed that the spirits of the ancestors wait at the pagodas for their loved ones to have homemade dishes prepared by their kin.
Ben Thom: The Final Day
The final day, i.e. the 15th Day, is “Ben Thom”. On this day, children prepare lunch for their parents. The families dress up and bring baskets of flowers, while children offer sticky rice cakes to the monks. It is a belief that by offering food and prayers during Pchum Ben, the family helps the ancestors have a better life.
Conclusion
Pchum Ben is a powerful reminder to honour the customs and pay respect to the ancestors. Cambodians not only visit pagodas during these 15 days, they also visit during anniversaries and birthdays of their ancestors to show the relevance in their life.
Although the festival dates back to the Middle Ages, it remains one of the most significant among Cambodian holidays. Students and workers go back to their families to observe the festival and make their offerings. It is a heartwarming custom that highlights how family is deeply rooted in gratitude and respect for Cambodian culture.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Ans. Pchum Ben is a Buddhist festival.Â
Ans. The Pchum Ben festival is celebrated to honor their ancestors and ensure the well being of their afterlife.Â
Ans. On this day people visit Pagodas, make offerings and food for their ancestors, light candles and pray to their ancestors.Â
Ans. The festival of the dead in Cambodia is called Pchum Ben.Â
Ans. Pchum Ben is the day for ancestors in Cambodia.Â
Ans. By offering food during Pchum Ben the family helps their the ancestors to pass on to the better life and ensure their ancestors do not get angry.
Ans. Pchum Ben is celebrated for 15 days consisting of celebrations on the 15th day on the tenth month of Khmer Calendar at the end of the Buddhist Lent, Vassa.
Ans. Pchum Ben the important holiday in Cambodia is celebrated in October.
