Cambodians love to celebrate, and they have many festivals throughout the year. They also like to celebrate international holidays with Christmas, Halloween, New Year, and Chinese New Year being particularly popular. Below is a list of the most popular events that happen each year in Cambodia.

Khmer New Year

Cambodia follows the Buddhist new year which falls in April. It’s a three-day event and most businesses, except for those catering for tourists, will be closed at this time. It’s a time when families travel back to their hometowns to see their loved ones and enjoy parties and celebrations.

Cambodians will visit their local pagodas, play traditional games, and prepare traditional meals. The whole family is invited and it’s a busy time for Cambodians.

Pchum Ben

Pchum Ben usually falls in October and is also a 3-day festival where people will travel back to their hometowns to spend time with their families. This event celebrates dead ancestors and locals will head out to the pagoda very early in the morning to throw balls of rice to ensure that their dead relatives have enough food to eat.

It’s also an excuse for a party and many Cambodians will throw large parties inviting all their friends and family for drinks and food. Many local businesses will also be closed during this time.

Water Festival

The water festival is another 3-day even which happens in November. The festival has boat racing, fireworks, and many other festivities. It celebrates the end of the rainy season and the coming of the next harvest.

The river in Phnom Penh has many boat races and in the past millions of Cambodians from all over the country have camped next to the river to join in the fun. However, in recent years with a tragic incident where many people died and political disputes rising, the Water festival has been a much smaller affair.

Siem Reap is also busy around this time and many Cambodians will come to see the boat racing along the Siem Reap River. The town becomes very full at this time and there are live performances, parties, impromptu markets, and many other things to see and do.

Chinese New Year

Many Cambodians have Chinese ancestors and the Chinese New Year is also widely celebrated. Locals will decorate their houses with Chinese trees containing red envelopes with money inside. Guests are often invited to pick an envelope. People will also burn fake money and other fake valuable items to bring good luck and prosperity in the future.

International New Year

Never ones to shy away from a party, Cambodians have also started to celebrate New Year with the rest of the world. There are many parties, street performances, fireworks, and drinks to be had during the new year. It’s one of the most popular nights out of the year and nearly everywhere will be packed.

If you’re planning on visiting Cambodia during any of these events, you should be aware that everything and everywhere is much busier than usual. You should also be more vigilant as petty crime also increases around these times.