Pchum Ben Festival

Most of Cambodian people are Buddhism. Therefore, we are all celebrating Buddhist ceremonies. Pchum Ben is one of the longest ceremony in Buddhism believe. There are fifteen days and often held between September and October. Pchum Ben is the festival of the dead. It is a Buddhist ceremony where people take food offerings to the temple to offer to ancestors and friends. Through the virtue of the sermons (by monks), the offerings are given to spirits of the dead. It is to commemorate the dead. It is also a social time, where people gather and share food such as "num onsam" and "num korm". Any visitor will be welcomed to share food."Prets" are the damned. They were sent to hell to suffer as they caused others to suffer. These are very serious offenders of hell. During Pchum Ben, offerings to "prets" are also given because they cannot receive offerings without the sermons from monks. It is to lessen the anguish and suffering of your ancestors who are prets. How do you know if your ancestors are among the “prets”? You don’t. You give offerings just in case you have ancestors who are. The deceased, who have no neighbors, friends or families to get commemorated as well. You have to understand that in addition to Buddhism, Cambodians also practice animism and ancestor-worship respectively. It’s Cambodian culture. Ancestor-worship serves as a social function, rather than a religious function. The purpose of ancestor worship is not to seek favor, but to fulfill filial duty. I don't doubt that people do it to seek favor, but that's not the objective.When people make offerings to possible "pret" ancestors, they don't do it to assume that all their dead relatives are "prets". It is in case there are ancestors who are "prets". It is filial duty. No one thinks that are better than their ancestors, but better safe than sorry. These are all about my idea. I am very welcome for the correction. By the ways, Tomorrow is the first day of Pchum Ben festival. Hope everyone would enjoy the days !