Bask In The Celebration Of New Year With Traditional Fun And Festivities
The Khmer New Year, or 'Bon Chol Chhnm Thmei' in the Khmer language, is commonly celebrated on 13th April each year although sometimes the holiday may fall one the 14th April in keeping with the Cambodian lunar celendar. This marks the end of the harvest season when farmers enjoy the fruits of their labor and relax before the start of the rainy of the rainy season. The New Year holidays last for three days.
During this time, people engage in traditional Khmer game; they play such games as the Best Angkor 'seed throwing' Chaol Chhoung 'twisted-scarf throwing' Leak Kanséng 'twisted-scarf hide', tug of war, shuttlecock kicking, etc. Throughout the country, people merrily dance the traditional Khmer forms of the Ram Vong, Ram Kbach Saravan and Lam Leav in the open.
Khmer traditional cloth for Khmer New Year
THE THREE DAYS OF KHMER NEW YEAR
Maha Sangkran
The first day of New Year is known as Maha Sangkran. It marks the beginning of a fresh year and generally, people would dress themselves up and visit temples to make offerings, light candles and burn incense.
Virak Vanabat
This is the second day of the New Year and Cambodia observe this day by sharing and contributing to the less fortunates; charity for the poor and homeless people.
Thngay Leung Saka
On the, the third day of the celebration, people would 'bathe' their parents or the elderly at home, ceremoniously pouring perfumed water over their hands and buddhists would "bathe" statues of the buddha.
WATER FESTIVAL, MOON FESTIVAL
The Water Festival, a spectacle to behold, is probably the most exuberant festival held each year in November. It is usually celebrated for three days, i.e. the 14th and 15th day of the waxing moon and the 1st day of the warning moon in the month of Kadek. The 15th day of the waxing moon is the last full moon day.
The festival ushers in the fishing season, mark a change in the flow of the Tonle Sap and the ebbing-water season, and is seen as thanksgiving to the Mekong River for providing the country with fertile land and abundant fish.
At the height of the rainy season, the water of the Mekong River forces the Tonle Sap to reverse its current and to flow up to the Tonle Sap Lake, the swollen Tonle Sap Lake flows back to the Mekong River through the Tonla Sap and empties into the sea, wich leaves behind vast quantities of fish. This, indeed, is a remarkable phenomenoon of the Tonle Sap.
Loy Pratip in the night
THREE CEREMONIES UNDERPIN THE ENTER WATER FESTIVAL
Loy Pratip: An evening fluvial parade, featuring beautifully-illuminated boats lighting up the waterways. Government institutions each sponsor a boat on the parade.
Sampeas Preah Khé: Salutation to the moon. The full moon is highly regarded and people give thanks to the moon on Bon Om Touk, and pray for a bountiful harvest ahead.
ROYAL PLOUGHING CEREMONY
A traditional custom to ensure a bountiful harvest
The Royal Ploughing Ceremony, or 'Bon Chroat Preah Nongkoal' in the Khmer Language, is solemnly celebrated at the beginning of the sowing and planting season. Every year in May, this cultural ceremony takes place at the parking front of the National Museum (next to the Royal Palace). Cambodia has a deep connection with the earth and farming. There is a deep astrological belief that royal oxen known in Khmer as Usapheak Reach, have an instrumental role in determining the fate of the agricultural harvest each year.
Traditional, the King Meak, representing the king of Cambodia, ploughs the field whilst the Queen, the Preah Mehuo, sows seeds from behind. The field is ceremoniously ploughed three times around. The royal servants then drive the royal oxen to seven golden trays containing rice, corn, sesame seeds, grass, water , and wine to feed. The royal soothsayers interpret what the oxen have eaten and predict a series of events including epidemics, floods, good harvest, and excessive rainfall. At this festival, both men and women wear brightly colored Khmer traditional costume.
BUFFALO RACING
An exhilarating spectacle to honour the spirits
HISTORY
Buffalo races have grown in popularity over the years. Villagers trained for months in preparation for the event. The buffaloes raced in pairs and the winners receive monetary on top the glory.
There was a time when many village cattle which provided rural Cambodians with muscle power to plough their fields, suddenly drop from an unknown disease. The villagers prayed to a spirit to help save their animals from the disease and promised to show their gratitude by holding a buffalo race each year on the last day of the "Phchum Ben" festival. Since then, the cattle have been safe and the villagers kept to their pledge.
