Cambodia Celebrating “Chol Vossa” Festival
AKP Phnom Penh, July 06, 2020 --
Cambodia has been celebrating Chol Vossa (enter rainy season) or Rainy Retreat, one of annual religious festivals.
This year, the festival began on July 5 and will last until Oct. 3, in the pagodas throughout Cambodia.


During this three-month-long festival, the monks do not leave their pagodas to collect alms as usual. They must remain within the temple compound. Anyway, they can accept the invitation of devotees and travel out at day time, but they cannot stay out of the pagoda overnight.

Generally, Buddhist followers offer Tean Vossa (Vossa candle), a large candle that has to be lighted the whole days and nights during the festival, as well as oil, robes and other food supplies to the monks.
Tean Vossa is considered as the light for life, in which the dark part of life would be lightened, guiding a way out toward nirvana.

The end of the Rainy Retreat or Chegn Vossa Festival will be also celebrated.
By C. Nika
AKP

Cambodia Celebrating “Chol Vossa” Festival 2022
AKP Phnom Penh, July 25, 2022 --

Cambodian people across the country have been celebrating Chol Vossa (enter rainy season) or Rainy Retreat, one of annual religious festivals.
This year, the festival began on July 14 and will last until Oct. 10, in the pagodas throughout Cambodia.
- AKP

What is the Vossa or Vassa ?
From : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vassa

The Vassa (Pali: vassa-, Sanskrit: varṣa-, both "rain") is the three-month annual retreat observed by Theravada [Buddhist] practitioners. Taking place during the wet season, Vassa lasts for three lunar months, usually from July (the Burmese month of Waso, ဝါဆို) to October (the Burmese month of Thadingyut သီတင်းကျွတ်).

In English, Vassa is often glossed as Rains Retreat or Buddhist Lent, the latter by analogy to the Christian Lent (which Vassa predates by at least five centuries).

For the duration of Vassa, monastics remain in one place, typically a monastery or temple grounds. In some monasteries, monks dedicate the Vassa to intensive meditation. Some Buddhist lay people choose to observe Vassa by adopting more ascetic practices, such as giving up meat, alcohol, or smoking. In Thailand, the sale of alcohol is prohibited on the first and last days of Vassa, known as "Khao Phansa" and "Wan Ok Phansa". While Vassa is sometimes casually called "Buddhist Lent", others object to this terminology. Commonly, the number of years a monk has spent in monastic life is expressed by counting the number of vassas (or rains) since ordination.

This Year’s Chol Vossa Festival Kicks Off
AKP Phnom Penh, August 02, 2023 --

The annual Chol Vossa (enter rainy season) or Rainy Retreat, one of the biggest religious festivals, begins today in all pagodas throughout Cambodia, and will last until Oct. 29.

During this three-month-long festival, the monks do not leave their pagodas to collect alms as usual. They must remain within the temple compound. Anyway, they can accept the invitation of devotees and travel out at day time, but they cannot stay out of the pagoda overnight.

Generally, Buddhist followers offer Tean Vossa (Vossa candle), a large candle that has to be lighted the whole days and nights during the festival, as well as oil, robes and other food supplies to the monks.

Tean Vossa is considered as the light for life, in which the dark part of life would be lightened, guiding a way out toward nirvana.

The end of the Rainy Retreat or Chegn Vossa Festival will be also celebrated.
By C. Nika
AKP