What’s On In カンボジア Cambodia4連休！Four-Day Long Weekend!
カンボジアでは、今日から4連休が始まっています！
なぜ4連休かといいますと・・・今日(10/29）が「シハモニ国王戴冠記念日」の祝日で、明日から日曜日（10/30～11/1）までが「水祭り (Bon Om Touk)」だからです。会社によっては、月曜日が日曜日の振替休日になることもあるようです。その場合は、5連休になります！10月に祝日がない私達日本人は、ちょっとうらやましく感じてしまいますね。
しかし、残念ながら新型コロナウイルスの影響で、今年8月にカンボジア政府は「水祭り」を中止すると発表しました。「水祭り」はトンレサップ川が再びいつも通りの方向に流れ始める雨季明けを祝う祭りです。旧暦によって日程が決まりますが、概ね10月下旬から11月上旬に催される、カンボジアにおける盛大な行事の一つです。毎年「水祭り」の時期には、多くの人がプノンペンに集まり、昼はトンレサップ川で行われるメインイベントのボートレースを観戦し、夜になると水上フロートパレードや周辺の屋台や花火などを楽しみます。
来年はいつも通りの「水祭り」の賑わいが見られますように。
ボートレース Boat race. Photo credit: Cambodia Travel
It’s a four-day long weekend in Cambodia this week!
It starts from today, which is “King Norodom Sihamoni’s Coronation Day”, a public holiday, and then stretches from tomorrow until Sunday, which is “Bon Om Touk” (a.k.a. the Cambodian Water and Moon Festival). Depending on companies, some places will have a replacement holiday on the following Monday, due to public holiday on a Sunday. With this, it makes a five-day long weekend in total! How we wish we have the same long holiday here in Japan as well, given that October is a holiday-deficit month this year.
Sad to say but “Bon Om Touk” has been cancelled this year due to the outbreak of Covid-19, as announced by the Cambodian government in August. “Bon Om Touk” is a festival meant to celebrate the reverse flow of the Tonle Sap River, and to mark the end of the rainy season in Cambodia. Depending on the lunar calendar, it usually falls in late October or early November, and it is one of Cambodia’s grandest festivals. During “Bon Om Touk”, many people will visit Phnom Penh to catch the main event – boat racing competition at the Tonle Sap River, as well as to enjoy the river float parade, outdoor street market, and fireworks at night.
We sure hope we will be able to see again, the same old bustle of the festival next year.
参考文献・Reference(s):
- Khmer Times, “Three Day Water Festival Cancelled”, 14 August 2020, https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50754872/three-day-water-festival-cancelled/
- Wikipedia, “Bon Om Touk”, 28 October 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Om_Touk
- Move To Cambodia, “Cambodia’s Water Festival”, Cassie Wilkins, 21 November 2018, https://www.movetocambodia.com/holidays/cambodias-water-festival/