Pchum Ben is a religious holiday celebrated in Cambodia on the fifteenth day of the tenth month of the Khmer year. It is a time for Cambodians to pay their respects to the last seven generations of the their deceased ancestors. The last three days of the Pchum Ben period are a major public holiday when everyone goes to his or her home village. This year the holidays are September 19-21.
There are many rituals associated with the festival although most do not come into full play until the holidays when the populace flocks to the wats (pagodas) to pray. Leading up to those holidays, many people, especially the elderly make visits to the wats and make offerings of lotus pods. These are pictures of women on the streets bunching the pods together for sale.
