Bon Om Touk or the Cambodian Water Festival,is a three day festival celebrated on the full moon in October or November.Every town and province joins in with the festival but the biggest celebrations take place in Phnom Penh with boat racing along the Sisowath Quay. For three days, workers from every province join with the city's residents to celebrate by night and day.
On the other hand the water is celebrated every years in November to honor the victory of Cambodian Naval forces in the reign of King JayvarmanVII, during Angkor period of the 12th century with boat races on the rivers and lakes and ceremonies of gratitude for the fertile land and rain that provided rice for sustenance and strength.
The festival is focused on boat races and concerts. The roots of the boat races can be traced back to the times of the Angkorian kings who would train and evaluate the fighting skills of their water based warriors by holding competitions on the river. These trials in turn honoured the naval victories of the Khmer empire under the leadership of Jayavarman VII in the twelfth century.
The festival is one of the largest and most popular in Cambodia. Almost every town and village across Cambodia takes part in the festival, but by far, the most popular place to be is Sisowath Quay in Phnom Pen where up to four million people will converge to watch the boat races.
the festival is a time to give thanks to the rivers as they provide the region with fertile farming land and plenty of fish.
The celebrations carry on night and day for the three days of the festival, with the river illuminated by fireworks and numerous brightly-lit boats under the full moon.