Cambodia Water Festival: November 2-4, 2009
Water Festival is a Public Holiday in Cambodia.
November 2, 2009, the Cambodia Water festival (Bon Om Touk) is the largest 3-day festival in Phnom Penh celebrating the end of the raining season and the start of the fishing season. The Water Festival is a national holiday that is looked forward to all year. While other festival and celebrations are important in their own way in Cambodia, the Water Festival seems to outshine them all. It is said over a million people makes their way to the capital city during the festivities.
Cambodia Water Festival History
The history of the Cambodian water Festival is said to date back to the 12th century. While there are different accounts of why the water festival started one of them includes King Jayavarman VII wanting to kick off the Cambodian fishing season in style by keeping the river happy and ensuring a bountiful harvest will come yearly – which coincides with the Full Moon. Another possibility is that the boat races were a way to train his navy for battle. Whatever the case may be, the point s Cambodians enjoys this festival a great deal and will continue to do so. Fishing is a vital source of financial stability for the Cambodian person -which is why they would want to keep the river happy by honouring it.
Cambodia Water Festival Customs and Activities
Many months before the Water Festival begins, the locals prepare their fishing boats by decorating them in lavish, colorful decorations - boats with large eyes on the prowl to discourage evil spirits. Thousands of local flock watch the boat races and cheer for their favorites. Day 2 is when the boat races really start to begin. A massive fireworks display also takes place that will light up the night sky. The entire area has a circus atmosphere that locals and tourists will surely enjoy. Unlike western boat races, Cambodian boat crew face forward instead of backward. While the other festivities are great, the boat races at the Water Festival are the main event and not to be missed.
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