Cambodian New Year takes
place on April 13rd or 14th, of the year and last for three days officially
although people in Cambodia can celebrate up to weeks. Cambodian New Year or
Chaul Chnam Thmey in the Khmer language, literally "Enter New Year",
is the name of the Cambodian holiday that celebrates the New Year. The holiday
lasts for three days beginning on New Year's Day, which usually falls on April
13 or 14th, which is the end of the harvesting season, when farmers enjoy the
fruits of their labor before the rainy season begins. Khmers living abroad may
choose to celebrate during a weekend rather than just specifically April 13/14
through 15/16th. The Khmer New Year coincides with the traditional solar new
year in several parts of India, Myanmar and Thailand.
Sus’Dei Chnam Thmei” is a
3-day festival starting around the 13th or 14th of April (depending on leap
years) to celebrate the New Year. Everyone is out on the streets wishing each
other and their families success, peace and happiness. Much earlier, during Angkor times, the New
Year was celebrated 4 months earlier on the 1st day of the first lunar month.
This was abandoned after Angkor, as a solar calendar was adopted and gained
popularity.
The main reason for the
change was the end of the dry season, when the peasants finished their work in
the fields and the harvest had been put away safely before the start of the
rainy season, and people had more time to celebrate. Therefore, one of the
kings decided to change the New Year festival to the month of April and to
follow a solar calendar.
The first day of the
Khmer New Year is called Moha Songkran.
On that day, a new god or
angel is appointed to protect the world for the year ahead. To welcome him,
people clean and decorate their houses and themselves, to make sure that the
New Year does not start with bad luck or unhappiness. Each home “competes” to
welcome the new god or angel individually by offering a table full of fruits, a
cake with candles, incense sticks decorated with flowers, and flashing light chains
to ensure that the house and the family are protected for the rest of the year.
The time around New Year
is the only time when young Cambodians are allowed to meet and engage in
“mixed” plays. It is also the opportunity for young men to look for potential
brides. That’s the tradition!
The second day of the New
Year is called Vearak Wanabat.
This means “Day of
Giving”. Traditionally, on this day one gives gifts to parents, grand-parents,
and elderly people. Children receive new clothes, and poor people are given
money or clothes. In the evening, the monks in the pagodas are asked to give a
blessing.
The third day of the New
Year is called Thnganai Leurng Saka and means “new beginning”.
After seeking the
blessings of the monks in the morning, a joyful farewell celebration is held in
the afternoon. In the streets and in public places, people pour water on each
other. Children and young people throw baby powder and flour at each other.
People that usually work far away from their families in other provinces make
it a point to return to their families to celebrate the New Year together.
Cities, specially the
capital Phnom Penh, are very quiet during that time, as most people that live
and work in Phnom Penh are not born there. They come from other provinces, such
as Siem Reap, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Kompong Thom, Svay Rieng, and others of
the 24 provinces that make up the country.
At the beginning of the
festival, people usually cook food and bring it to the monks in the pagodas.
The pagodas are also a good place for Cambodians to meet other people who are
also born in their region or who went to school together, but now live and work
in other places. The pagoda thus becomes a place of reunion, meeting old
friends and exchanging news about their lives. During the festival, many
traditional plays are played, such as throwing of “Ongkunhs”, rope pulling
contests, and others. After the festival, people return to their places of work
and wait for the next festival, Pchum Ben Tag. That will be the next time when
the whole family and friends get together again.
