Cambodian New Year

Cambodian New Year
File:Tungsak Tevi (ទុង្សៈទេវី).jpg Tungsak Tevi sits on a curve her vehicle Garuda
Official name	Khmer New Year បុណ្យចូលឆ្នាំខ្មែរ
Also called	Choul Chnam Khmer
Observed by	Khmers
Significance	Marks the Cambodian New Year
Begins	14 April
Ends	16 April
Date	14 April
Frequency	annual
Related to	South and Southeast Asian New Years

Template:Contains Khmer text Cambodian New Year (Khmer: បុណ្យចូលឆ្នាំថ្មី) (Choul Chnam Thmey, literally "Enter New Year"), is the name of the Cambodian holiday that celebrates the traditional Lunar New Year. Cambodia is a country with the oldest civilization in Southeast Asia, and this nation also has its New Year's Eve, most of which the nation calls itself the "Khmer". The history of Cambodia's New Year is ancient and long last, and a large part is linked to Hinduism in India and Sri Lanka. Khmer New Year is the name of Cambodian festivals, which celebrate New Year's Eve in the traditional lunar calendar. Actually, the ancient year-to-year celebrations in January, according to the Zhou Daguan history, came to the Khmer empire in 1296 AD of the 13th Century, after which it was changed to April in a symbolic way And it's right, and the months of the harvest season. The three-day holiday begins on New Year's Day, usually on April 13th or 14th, at the end of the harvest season when farmers enjoy their crops before the rainy season begins. Khmer New Year coincided with the new year of sunlight in parts of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. The Khmer New Year also contains related legends, written by Cambodians in connection with Buddhism, which was written in 1969 by Tep Pitu Chhem Krosem about the parable of the three Parallels between the god of Brahmā (four faces) with the Vishnu god has been born into a boy named "Tommabal Komar" has both aesthetic animal language and has learned many other scriptures Vedas text and turned to Buddhism.

The three days of the new year

Elders cleanse statues of the Buddha with perfumed water.

Tables with offerings of flowers and food to one's ancestors are commonly set up for the Khmer New Year. Seen here is a Chinese Cambodian ancestor altar.

Maha Sangkran (មហាសង្រ្កាន្ត)

Maha Sangkran, 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 in front of 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 (វិរ:វ័នបត)

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 (វារៈឡើងស័ក)

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

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 (ស្រង់ព្រះ) : 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.

Traditional games (ល្បែង⁣ប្រជាប្រិយ)

Cambodia is home to a variety of games played to transform the dull days into memorable occasions. These games are similar to those played in Manipur, a north-eastern state in India. 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 (ចោល⁣ឈូង)

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 (ចាប់⁣កូនខ្លែង)

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 (បោះអង្គុញ⁣)

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 Jours-activity 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 (លាក់⁣កន្សែង)⁣

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 (បាយខុម)

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 Sangkran (អង្គរសង្ក្រាន្ត)

Angkor Sangkran (Sanskrit: Angkor Sangkranta) 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 14–16 April. Culture event action-packed Angkor Sangkran 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.

Dates in Khmer calendar

Gregorian	Date	Animal	Day of the week		Gregorian	Date	Animal	Day of the week
2001	13 April	Snake	Friday		2026	13 April	Horse	Tuesday
2002	13 April	Horse	Saturday		2027	13 April	Goat	Thursday
2003	13 April	Goat	Sunday		2028	13 April	Monkey	Saturday
2004	13 April	Monkey	Tuesday		2029	13 April	Rooster	Sunday
2005	13 April	Rooster	Wednesday		2030	13 April	Dog	Monday
2006	13 April	Dog	Thursday		2031	13 April	Pig	Tuesday
2007	13 April	Pig	Friday		2032	13 April	Rat	Thursday
2008	13 April	Rat	Sunday		2033	13 April	Ox	Friday
2009	13 April	Ox	Monday		2034	13 April	Tiger	Saturday
2010	13 April	Tiger	Tuesday		2035	13 April	Rabbit	Sunday
2011	13 April	Rabbit	Wednesday		2036	13 April	Dragon	Tuesday
2012	13 April	Dragon	Friday		2037	13 April	Snake	Wednesday
2013	13 April	Snake	Saturday		2038	13 April	Horse	Thursday
2014	13 April	Horse	Sunday		2039	13 April	Goat	Friday
2015	13 April	Goat	Monday		2040	13 April	Monkey	Sunday
2016	13 April	Monkey	Wednesday		2041	13 April	Rooster	Monday
2017	14 April	Rooster	Friday		2042	13 April	Dog	Tuesday
2018	14 April	Dog	Saturday		2043	13 April	Pig	Wednesday
2019	13 April	Pig	Saturday		2044	13 April	Rat	Friday
2020	13 April	Rat	Monday		2045	13 April	Ox	Saturday
2021	13 April	Ox	Tuesday		2046	13 April	Tiger	Sunday
2022	13 April	Tiger	Thursday		2047	13 April	Rabbit	Monday
2023	13 April	Rabbit	Friday		2048	13 April	Dragon	Wednesday
2024	13 April	Dragon	Sunday		2049	13 April	Snake	Thursday
2025	13 April	Snake	Monday		2050	13 April	Horse	Friday

See also

• Water Festival
• Chinese zodiac
• South and Southeast Asian New Year