Cambodian New Year

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Cambodian New Year
Khmer New Year GA2010-146.jpg
Young women at a Khmer New Year celebration in Lithonia, Georgia, US, 2010.
Official name Cambodian New Year ( )
Also called Choul Chnam Thmey
Observed by Khmers
Significance Marks the Cambodian New Year
Begins 13 April
Ends 16 April
Date 13 April
Next time
13 April 2017
Frequency
annual
Related to
Thingyan, Lao New Year, Songkran
This article contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks,
boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script.
Cambodian New Year (Khmer: ) or Choul 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 13th 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 13th through 16th. The Khmer New Year coincides with the traditional solar new year
in several parts of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Puthandu, Myanmar and Thailand.
Cambodians also use Buddhist Era to count the year based on the Buddhist calendar. For 2016, it is 2560
BE (Buddhist Era).[1]
Maha Songkran ()[edit]
Maha Songkran, derived from Sanskrit Maha Sankranti, is the name of the first day of the new year
celebration. It is the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. People dress up and light candles
and burn incense sticks at shrines, where the members of each family pay homage to offer thanks for the
Buddha's teachings by bowing, kneeling and prostrating themselves three times before his image. For
good luck people wash their face with holy water in the morning, their chests at noon, and their feet in
the evening before they go to bed.
Virak Vanabat ( : )[edit]
Vireak Vanabat is the name of the second day of the new year celebration. People contribute charity to
the less fortunate by helping the poor, servants, homeless, and low-income families. Families attend a
dedication ceremony to their ancestors at monasteries.

Vearak Loeng Sak ()[edit]

T'ngai Loeng Sak in Khmer is the name of the third day of the new year celebration. Buddhists wash the
Buddha statues and their elders with perfumed water. Bathing the Buddha images is a symbolic practice
to wash bad actions away like water clean dirt from household items. It is also thought to be a kind deed
that will bring longevity, good luck, happiness and prosperity in life. By washing their grandparents and
parents, the children can obtain from them best wishes and good pieces of advice to live the life for the
rest of the year.
New Year's customs[edit]
In temple
In temples, people erect a sand hillock on temple grounds. They mound up a big pointed hill of sand or
dome in the center which represents Valuka Chaitya, the stupa at Tavatimsa where the Buddha's hair and
diadem are buried. The big stupa is surrounded by four small ones, which represent the stupas of the
Buddha's favorite disciples: Sariputta, Moggallana, Ananda, and Maha Kassapa. There is another
tradition called Sraung Preah ( ) : pouring water or liquid plaster (a mixture of water with some
chalk powder) on elder relative, or people (mostly the younger generation is responsible for pouring the
water).
The Khmer New Year is also a time to prepare special dishes. One of these is a "kralan": a cake made
from steamed rice mixed with beans or peas, grated coconut and coconut milk. The mixture is stuffed
inside a bamboo stick and slowly roasted.[2]
Traditional games ( )[edit]
Khmer New Year GA2010-128.jpg
Cambodge Khmer new year 4.JPG
Cambodia is home to a variety of games played to transform the dull days into memorable occasions.
These games are similar to those played at Manipur, a north-eastern state in India.[3] Throughout the
Khmer New Year, street corners often are crowded with friends and families enjoying a break from
routine, filling their free time with dancing and games. Typically, Khmer games help maintain one's
mental and physical dexterity.
"Chol Chhoung ()"
A game played especially on the first nightfall of the Khmer New Year by two groups of boys and girls.
Ten or 20 people comprise each group, standing in two rows opposite each other. One group throws the
"chhoung" to the other group. When it is caught, it will be rapidly thrown back to the first group. If
someone is hit by the "chhoung," the whole group must dance to get the "chhoung" back while the other
group sings to the dance.

"Chab Kon Kleng ( )"

A game played by imitating a hen as she protects her chicks from a crow. Adults typically play this game
on the night of the first New Year's Day. Participants usually appoint a strong player to play the hen who
protects "her" chicks, while another person is picked to be the "crow". While both sides sing a song of
bargaining, the crow tries to catch as many chicks as possible as they hide behind the hen.
"Bos Angkunh ()"

The simple style consists of just throwing the Ongkunhs to hit the target Ongkunhs. The extended style
adds five more stages in addition to the throwing stage. Both styles end with a penalty called Joursactivity that the winning team members get to perform on the losing team members. The Jours-activity is
performed by using the Onkunghs the hit the knees of the losing team.
"Leak Kanseng ( )"
A game played by a group of children sitting in a circle. Someone holding a "kanseng" (Cambodian
towel) that is twisted into a round shape walks around the circle while singing a song. The person
walking secretly tries to place the "kanseng" behind one of the children. If that chosen child realizes
what is happening, he or she must pick up the "kanseng" and beat the person sitting next to him or her.
"Bay Khom( )"
A game played by two children in rural or urban areas during their leisure time. Ten holes are dug in the
shape of an oval into a board in the ground. The game is played with 42 small beads, stones or fruit
seeds. Before starting the game, five beads are put into each of the two holes located at the tip of the
board. Four beads are placed in each of the remaining eight holes. The first player takes all the beads
from any hole and drops them one by one in the other holes. He or she must repeat this process until
they have dropped the last bead into a hole that lies besides any empty one. Then they must take all the
beads in the hole that follows the empty one. At this point, the second player may have his turn. The
game ends when all the holes are empty. The player with the greatest number of beads wins the game. It
is possibly similar to congkak.
Angkor Sankranti ()[edit]
Angkor Sankranti is an event of Khmer New Year organized by the Union of Youth Federations of
Cambodia (UYFC) which is held in Siem Reap province from 1316 April. Angkor Sankranti is an
opportunity for all Cambodians as a united Khmer Family and for foreign friends to receive
unforgettable and exquisite experiences during Khmer New Year in Cambodia.