APAD 013: Preparing for Pchum Ben

It is Pchum Ben once again Cambodia. It’s the time of the year when chaotic Phnom Penh empties out as most residents go back to their homelands to celebrate this religious celebration.

Pchum Ben is the festival for commemorating the spirits of the dead. The faithful Buddhists go to different wats (temples) in their hometowns to offer prayer and food to their ancestors. It is somewhat similar to the Catholic’s celebration of All Soul’s Day, but the celebration of Pchum Ben lasts longer, for 15 days.

Anyway, since Pchum Ben is two weeks away, there are now activities at the wats. Achars (layman) and elder women start decorating the wats, putting up banners and such, like what you see in this picture:

The statues have been scrubbed washed and are now immaculately clean.

Did you know that the Cambodian Catholic community celebrate All Soul’s Day during the Pchum Ben? Traditionally, the Catholics celebrate All Soul’s Day every 2nd of November but here the date was “adjusted” to coincide with the country’s traditional holding of Pchum Ben.