Will you be in Cambodia for a particular holiday? I would really like to be in Cambodia for the Cambodian New Year. The Cambodian New Year is considered one of the most important celebrations. Every year an angel comes to earth to protect the Khmer people. All of Cambodia is on its feet at this time, solemnly welcoming the arrival of the angel. So Cambodians can rejoice that their Khmer New Year even got an extra day. Because:
6 days less since 2020
While there were 28 official public holidays in Cambodia in 2019, the number has shrunk to 21 in 2020. The reason is competitiveness with neighbouring countries. Investors had complained about the comparatively high number of public holidays. The reduction is intended to make the country more attractive for investors from home and abroad.
In 2022 Independence day (Nov 09) will overlap with the three day water festival period (Nov 07, 08 and 09), reducing the total public holiday number to 20 days for year 2022 instead of 21 days for year 2021.
A LOT OF HOLIDAYS?
One might think that 21 Cambodian public holidays give the Khmer people an exorbitant leisure advantage. In my homecountry Germany, there are only 10. But things appear to be deceptive. The weekend with 2 days off that we are used to does not exist in Cambodia. As a rule, Khmer people work 6 days a week. So there is only one “day off”. With an 8-hour day, this adds up to quite a number of hours per week ;-)
List of Cambodian public holidays 2023
Here is the overview of all dates of the Cambodian holidays 2023. You can get more information about the celebrations here in the blog via the links.
Datum | Ereignis | Infos |
---|---|---|
Jan 01 | New Year Day | Although not many Cambodians celebrate the Gregorian New Year, 1 January is an official holiday in Cambodia. |
Jan 07 | Victory over Genocide Day | On this day in 1979, the Vietnamese liberated Cambodia from the terror of the Khmer Rouge. |
Jan 31 – Feb 06 | Chinese New Year | Although not an official holiday in Cambodia, Cambodians eagerly join in the celebrations. Especially in larger cities. Information on the festival can be found at Cambodia Images. |
Feb 05 | Meak Bochea | Celebrations commemorating the day when 1,250 monks spontaneously gathered to hear the preaching of Buddha more than 2,500 years ago ( moving holiday). Abolished as an official holiday in 2020, but still celebrated by Khmer people. |
Mar 08 | International Women’s Day | Cambodia is one of 26 countries in the world where March 8 is an official holiday. |
Apr 14, 15, 16 | Khmer New Year Day | Three-day celebration to mark the beginning of the New Year in the Buddhist Lunar Calendar. |
May 01 | International Labor Day | Official commemoration day of the labour movement. |
May 04 | Visak Bochea Day | Birthday of Buddha ( moving holiday). |
May 08 | Bonn Chroat Preah Nongkoal | This is a day with the royal ploughing ceremony to prepare the farmers for the beginning of the rainy season so that they can start to cultivate their fields (moving holiday). |
May 14 | King Norodom Sihamoni’s Birthday | King Samdech Preah Bâromneath Norodom Sihamoni was born on 14 May 1953. Until 2019, the celebrations lasted 3 days. Since 2020, it is only a one-day holiday. |
May 20 | National Day of Remembrance | To commemorate the mass killings during the Cambodian genocide that began on 20 May 1976. No longer a public holiday since 2020. |
Jun 01 | International Children’s Day | Until 2019, International Children’s Day was also an official holiday in Cambodia. |
June 18 | Queen Norodom Monineath’s Birthday | Norodom Monineath Sihanouk – the mother of the reigning king – was born on June 18, 1936. |
Sep 24 | Constitutional Day | The Constitution, issued on 29 April 1993, comprises 14 chapters and 139 articles. |
Oct 13, 14, 15 | Pchum Ben | Buddhist festival in memory of the deceased relatives ( moving holiday). |
Oct 15 | Commemoration Day of King’s Father, Norodom Sihanouk | König Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Varman (* 31. Oktober 1922; † 15. Oktober ) |
Oct 23 | Treaty of Paris | Commemorates an agreement signed in Paris in 1991 to end the Cambodian civil war. No longer an official holiday since 2020. |
Oct 29 | King’s Coronation Day, Norodom Sihamoni | Coronation of Norodom Sihamoni took place on 29 October 2004. |
Nov 09 | Independence Day | Independence from France was declared on 9 November 1953. |
Nov 26, 27, 28 | Bon Om Touk – Water Festival | Three-day festival at the end of the rainy season – at this time the Tonle Sap changes its direction of flow ( moving holiday). |
Dec 12 | International Human Rights Day | Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948 by the United Nations. Cambodia has been one of 193 member states of the United Nations since 1955. No longer an official holiday since 2020. |
Find your hotel in Cambodia
Maybe you don’t have a hotel for your Cambodia trip yet, then you can browse and book directly here at booking.com*Click on the button to load the content from booking.com.
Links with a * are affiliate links. If you like my blog and you buy, book or subscribe to something via an affiliate link, I get a small commission from the provider. Of course there are no additional costs for you.
Join our Facebook group
International travel group with friendly people who love Cambodia. We speak English, German and a little Khmer.