FAMCAM
Families with Cambodian Children

Home

Resources

Introduction: Cambodian New Year
by Laurie Fenton

Celebrating in Cambodia

New Year is the most popular holiday in Cambodia. The joyous celebration is held in mid-April and lasts for three days. The celebration includes gathering at the Buddhist Temple for prayers and food, as well as classical dances, music and traditional games.

In Khmer (cah'MY) the New Year celebration is called chaul chnam thmey (CHOOL chah'NAHM tah'MAY) which means entering the New Year. The greeting for Happy New Year is sur sdey chnam thmey ( SOO-ur sah'DAY chah'NAHM tah'MAY) or Happy New Year.

The date of the New Year celebration is set by astrologers by the lunar calendar to determine the exact moment when the new animal protector arrives. It falls around April 13 or 14 in the month of Chet., the end of the dry season in agricultural Cambodia. Like the Chinese, Cambodians observe the 12 year cycle of designating each year by the name of an animal. Sanskrit numerals from 1 to 10 are sometimes combined cyclically with each name so that it takes 60 years to complete the cycle of all number and animal combinations.

Preparations are made well ahead for the New Year celebration in Cambodia. Silk is used to make new clothing. Men and boys typically wear white round neck shirts and black pants, while the women wear knitted shirts and beautifully decorated robes. Houses are thoroughly cleaned to rid them of evil spirits. The new clothes and clean house symbolize a new beginning.

Buddhism plays a central role in the New Year celebration as well as in everyday life. New Year is a time to show respect for elders, including parents, grandparents and teachers. By offering charity to those less fortunate, by doing good deeds and showing forgiveness, one gains merit in the coming New Year. New Year is a time to celebrate with families and friends, so traveling during the holiday is common.

The three days of New Year each have a special name and activity. The three days are called Maha Sangkrant (Moh-hah sahng-KRAHN), Vana Bat (WAHNA BAHT), and Loeung Sack (LEONG SAHR).

On the morning of Maha Sangkrant, families visit the temple, wear their new clothes and bring food for the monks. After prayers, the afternoon is for playing games such as jhun (CHOH'ohng), a scarf tossing game, and teanh proat (DIEN PROHT), a tug-of-war game on the Temple grounds.

In the evening the community builds a sand mountain, preferably near a boddhi tree. The boddhi tree has special significance because it was under such a tree that Buddha slept, meditated and achieved enlightenment. The grains of sand are believed to be equal to one's health and happiness.

Vana Bat is the second day of celebration, which includes more praying. Children show respect and gratitude by giving their elders gifts of clothes, baked goods and money. Gifts are given to servents and the poor. After completing their good deeds, the children play games, dance and sing at the Temple. The sand mountain continues to be added to.

On the third day, Loeung Sack, the monks bless the sand mountain. The Buddha statues are bathed with perfumed water, smaller statues are submerged, while the large ones are washed by hand. The cleansing of the statues is a good deed, thought to bring good luck, merit and rain for the coming crops. After the statues are cleaned, people wash themselves, the elders, monks and teachers with the perfumed water. The water ceremony (pouring or throwing water at each other) is to bestow good wishes and blessing on each other. Perhaps the most fun part of this closing of the New Year celebration is the ugly covering, the playful covering of each other's faces with charcoal and/or mud.

Celebrating in the United States

The Cambodian New Year celebration in the U.S. is condensed into a two-day weekend observation. Some Cambodian/American communities have built temples, while others convert halls into Temples. Shopping for gifts for family and friends, buying fabric and new clothing, stocking up on special Cambodian foods not found in regular supermarkets and preparing family altars are done ahead of the holiday, as in Cambodia. New year celebrations have become important as a way for Cambodian/Americans to preserve and enjoy the arts and culture.

Monk outside the Wat. Shrine Inside -1

On Saturday, families go to the Temple early in the morning. They bring food, which is put on trays to be offered to the monks who lead the prayers called dak bot to Buddha. Late in the morning each person puts a spoonful of rice in the monk's rice pot. The monks must eat by noon, as tradition requires that they only eat breakfast and lunch. For the rest of the day, the monks may only drink tea or juice.

Once the monks have eaten, everyone shares the delicious home-cooked meal. There is a feast of traditional foods such as peanut curries, noodles and
tree mushrooms. Then the Buddhist ceremony is completed with more praying. The mountain is made with rice instead of sand, usually inside the Temple. Incense is lit and placed, along with flowers, in the mountain. The elders continue to pray and listen to the monks preach, while families and friends talk and the children play. Fortune telling and story telling are also part of the day.

Gathering to tell fortunes -2

Other New year's games include lakhon siang (hiding and passing the scarf), ank oung ( a throwing game using a hard dry fruit) and sdich chon ("king" in the middle).


Traditional Games -3

Traditional folk and classical dances are performed in the afternoon, at a location other than the Temple. In the evening young people dance to modern Cambodian and Western music.

Sunday morning, the families return to the Temple to pray and eat. In the afternoon, they bathe the Buddha statues and sprinkle holy water on each other for a sign of respect, and to bring good health, happiness and success in the coming year. The end of the ceremony, bot massau , where the splashing of water, cologne and make-up (including lipstick and powder) becomes a lively contest, especially among youths.

Information from
The Children's Museum, Boston, MA
Chol Chhnam: Cambodian New Year's Celebrations in Philadelphia (1979-1993)
Long Beach Unified School District