Pchum Ben Holiday
This week, Rich and I have been enjoying a week off from school. It is the Pchum Ben Holiday here in Cambodia.
Pchum Ben is a Buddhist holiday. And, although, we don't take many of the Buddhists holidays (we do take the national holidays), we do take this one. It would somewhat compare to our Christmastime. It is a holiday where most people go back to their home villages to meet with their families.
It is technically a 3 day holiday, but stretches to a week for travel time. For the Buddhist, there are certain things that you do each day during this holiday.
The first day is preparing a lot of food. This is for your ancestors to eat first. A candle is lit when all the food is out on the table. When the candle goes out, this signifies that the ancestors are finished eating, and they have taken the nutrients out of the food. After this, the family might eat the food, or they might give it to the area temple for the monks to eat, or a combination.
Day 2 is the day to go to the temple and worship, give gifts to the monks, and allow them to bless you.
Day 3 is a family play day. The family just enjoys being together. They have all kinds of games that they play. Also, many Khmer families will take this time to go to the beach, waterfall, or some other scenic place.
For the Christians, it is just a great time to spend with family.
Since, Phnom Penh is quiet with the majority of the people in the city going home to the countryside, Rich and I have enjoyed the quiet time. We used this week to study for upcoming classes (Rich is wrapping up Scientific Evidences and Greek this next week and will begin Major Biblical Doctrines the next week. I will begin teaching our girl student I and II Thessalonians.), exercising by walking around our part of the city, reading, etc. Rich has also been working on the master schedule to ensure that all the students are getting the classes they need to graduate.
Today is Friday, so we have noticed that the noise is picking up and people are making their way back. Please keep us, our students, the school, our graduates, and the Christians here in your prayers as we start back to our usual routines.
Much love,
Ronda
Pchum Ben is a Buddhist holiday. And, although, we don't take many of the Buddhists holidays (we do take the national holidays), we do take this one. It would somewhat compare to our Christmastime. It is a holiday where most people go back to their home villages to meet with their families.
It is technically a 3 day holiday, but stretches to a week for travel time. For the Buddhist, there are certain things that you do each day during this holiday.
The first day is preparing a lot of food. This is for your ancestors to eat first. A candle is lit when all the food is out on the table. When the candle goes out, this signifies that the ancestors are finished eating, and they have taken the nutrients out of the food. After this, the family might eat the food, or they might give it to the area temple for the monks to eat, or a combination.
Day 2 is the day to go to the temple and worship, give gifts to the monks, and allow them to bless you.
Day 3 is a family play day. The family just enjoys being together. They have all kinds of games that they play. Also, many Khmer families will take this time to go to the beach, waterfall, or some other scenic place.
For the Christians, it is just a great time to spend with family.
Since, Phnom Penh is quiet with the majority of the people in the city going home to the countryside, Rich and I have enjoyed the quiet time. We used this week to study for upcoming classes (Rich is wrapping up Scientific Evidences and Greek this next week and will begin Major Biblical Doctrines the next week. I will begin teaching our girl student I and II Thessalonians.), exercising by walking around our part of the city, reading, etc. Rich has also been working on the master schedule to ensure that all the students are getting the classes they need to graduate.
Today is Friday, so we have noticed that the noise is picking up and people are making their way back. Please keep us, our students, the school, our graduates, and the Christians here in your prayers as we start back to our usual routines.
Much love,
Ronda
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