The following dates are events and festivals that are celebrated and observed in the Kingdom of Cambodia. Some of the days correspond with internationally recognized days while others are Cambodian national holidays.
January 01 International New Year Day
January 07 Victory Day Over Genocidal
January 7, 1979, commemorates the end of the Khmer Rouge regime
February 14 Meak Bochea Day
A Day to Repent your Sins in Cambodia. Meak Bochea is an important religious festival observed by Buddhists in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. It is celebrated on the full moon day of the third lunar month, which usually falls in late February or early March.
March 08 International Women’s Day
April 14, 15, 16 Khmer New Year Day (Choul Ch
hnam Khmer)
The Chol Chnam Thmay Festival (Khmer New Year) is held from the 1st to the 3rd day of Chet month (according to Buddhist calendar). The traditional Tet (New Year) of the Khmer community, it is a time to see off the old year and welcome the New Year and pay respects to the God of the New Year, Buddha and ancestors. During these three days, Khmer people go to visit each other and wish good health, good luck and prosperity to each other.
May 01 International Labor Day
May 13 Visakh Bochea Day
Visakh Bochea Day is very remarkable day for all Buddhists around the world. This day has been celebrated to the Birth, Enlightenment and Parinibana of Lord Buddha.
May 13, 14, 15 Royal Birthday of the King Sihamoni
May 17 Royal Ploughing Day
The Royal Ploughing Day is an ancient royal rite to welcome the beginning of the growing season and determining the destiny of the harvest this year.
The ceremony takes place in the park in front of National Museum in the morning time and is led by the King or another high official and two sacred oxes. First the oxes plough a furrow of the park then they are led to seven trays containing rice, corn, beans, sesame, grass, water and alcohol. Depending on what the oxes choose to eat the chief astrologer will determine the fate of the harvest this year.
June 01 International Children Day
June 18 Royal Birthday of the King Mother Monineath Sihanouk
Sep 22, 23, 24 Pchum Ben Day
Pchum Ben “Ancestors’ Day” is a 15-day Cambodian religious festival, culminating in celebrations on the 15th day of the tenth month in the Khmer calendar, at the end of the Buddhist lent, Vassa. The day is a time when many Cambodians pay their respects to deceased relatives of up to 7 generations.
September 24 Constitutional and King’s Coronation Day
October 15 Commemoration Day of King Norodom Sihanouk
October 23 Paris Peace Agreement Day
1991 Paris Peace Agreement is the political milestone agreement signed by various Cambodia’s Representatives and other 18 nations for settling conflict in Cambodia. It has marked a new historical page for Cambodian in pursuing of peace, security, stability and democracy.
October 29 Royal Coronation of the King
Nov 05, 06, 07 Water Festival and Moon Festival and Boa
t Racing
The Cambodian Water Festival (variously spelled in the original Khmer as Bon Om Touk, or Bon Om Thook, or Bonn Om Teuk, or Bon Om Tuk) takes place once a year, on the full moon of the Buddhist month of Kadeuk (usually in November). It celebrates a major natural occurrence: the reversing flow between the Tonle Sap and the Mekong River.
Bon Om Touk dates back to the 12th century, to the time of the Angkorian King Jayavarman VII. The Water Festival was celebrated by the King’s Navy to kick off the Cambodian fishing season – the fluvial festivities are meant to keep the river divinities happy, ensuring a bountiful harvest of rice and fish for the year to come.
November 09 Independence Day
This national holiday was established to celebrate Cambodia’s independence fromFrance in 1953.
December 10 International Human Rights Day
Sabai Adventures Cambodia 