Pchum Ben or Ancestors’ Day that takes places during the lunar month of Pot-bot, is a Cambodian Buddhist and Brahmanism festival where people pay respect to the spirits of their ancestors and deceased relatives.
It is probably the most important festival in Cambodia and anyone who can, returns to their place of birth to be with family. As a result, schools, government offices and many business closed for several days.
Even though it is called Ancestors’ Day, it runs for three days and there is a lead up of fifteen days where people follow the custom of feeding the ancestors. It is believed that the dead wander the world during this period and the offering of food is meant to make their passage more comfortable.
On the main day Monks chant the Mantras in Pali language throughout the night as prelude to the gates of hell opening, an event that is presumed to occur once a year, and is linked to the cosmology of King Yama originating in the Pali Canon. During the period of the gates of hell being opened, ghosts of the dead are presumed to be especially active, and thus food-offerings are made to benefit them, some of these ghosts have the opportunity to end their period of purgation, whereas others are imagined to leave hell temporarily, to then return to endure more suffering Relatives who are not in hell (who are in heaven or otherwise reincarnated) are also believed to benefit from the ceremonies.
In temples adhering to canonical protocol, the offering of food itself is made from the laypeople to the (living) Buddhist monks, thus generating "merit" that indirectly benefits the dead; however, in many temples, this is either accompanied by or followed by food offerings that are believed to directly transfer from the living to the dead, such as rice-balls thrown through the air, or rice thrown into an empty field. Anthropologist Satoru Kobayashi observed that these two models of merit-offering to the dead are in competition in rural Cambodia, with some temples preferring the greater canonicity of the former model, and others embracing the popular (if unorthodox) assumption that mortals can "feed" ghosts with physical food.
Pchum Ben is considered unique to Cambodia although similar festivals are found in Sri Lanka.
Interesting fact: All Souls Day that is universally celebrated on November 2, but in Cambodia, Catholic communities celebrate it is during the traditional Pchum Ben.
Source: Wikipedia
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