KANDAL: Chairman of the Supreme Council of the King, Hun Sen and President of the Cambodian Red Cross, Bun Rany went to a pagoda to honor their ancestors along with family, organization leaders and civil servants over the weekend.

On the morning of October 8, former Prime Minister Hun Sen and his family offered candles, incense, flowers, food, and drinks for the 9th day of Kan Ben at the Champuh Ka’aek Pagoda, in Phnom Penh’s Chbar Ampov district.

Pchum Ben is one of the most celebrated traditional Khmer festivals and is divided into two parts: Kan Ben and Bon Pchum. Kan Ben takes place from the 1-14 of the Khmer calendar’s 10th month, during which Buddhists have the chance to serve and develop their Dharma, or universal truth.

Pchum Ben follows and is believed to be a time when the souls of ancestors may return to the living. The course of their journey will be decided by their karma and by the offerings made by their living relatives during Pchum Ben. This year it falls on October 13-16.

Cambodians celebrate the holiday with relatives and friends, often returning to their home provinces leaving the cities relatively empty. While gathering, they prepare different kinds of food, rice, and soup to give to monks at the local pagoda, who then pray and send blessings to their ancestors who have passed.