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Chol Chnam Thmay-
New Year festival
Khmer people always prepare for
the new year ceremony very carefully.
They clean and redecorate their house
and buy necessary food for the holi-
days. They stop all farm work, relax
and set free their cattle. The three of-
ficial festival days are held in a joyful
and exciting way from April 12 - 15.
Chol Chnam Thmay festival also shows
Khmer people’s aspirations, like many
other ethnic groups, to forget about the
old year’s misfortunes and look ahead
to a better new year.
Apart from worshipping the Bud-
dha, Khmer people believe that every
year the heavens send a god called
Tevoda to the earth to look after hu-
man beings. At the end of the year, the
god returns to heaven and another one
will replace him. Therefore, on new
year’s eve, every family prepares a par-
ty, burns incense and lights up lamps in
a ceremony to see off the old Tedova
and greet the new one. They also pray
to this god for good luck.
The first day is for the ceremony to
receive the great calendar, Moha Sang-
Kran, which gives a detailed account
of dates and festivals and a forecast
of rainfall so the villagers can foresee
if they will get a good or bad crop. On
this day, people take a bath and put on
their best clothes in anticipation of the
new year. They take incense, lamps,
flowers and fruits to a pagoda where
they perform the great calendar-re-
ceiving ceremony.
The second day is for the ceremo-
ny to offer boiled rice. On this day,
every Khmer family cooks rice and of-
fers it to Buddhist monks at the pagoda
in the early morning and at noon. The
monks chant prayers to thank those
who make the food and bring it to their
pagoda and say good luck to them.
Then people start to build small sandy
mountains in search of happiness and
luck. They make little mountains that
look in eight directions, while one in
the middle represents the universe.
This custom originates from an age-
old legend and shows people’s wishes
for rain.
The third day is for the ceremony to
wash the Buddha’s statue and Buddhist
monks. After giving boiled rice to the
monks in the morning, they continue
to listen to Buddhist teachings. In the
afternoon, they burn incense, offer sac-
rifices and use scented water to wash
the statue in order to pay tribute to
Buddha. This ceremony also gets rid of
the old year’s misfortunes. The monks
also conduct a ceremony to pray for
peace for dead souls. After that, the
people return to their houses and wash
the Buddha statue at home. They of-
fer dishes, confectionery and fruits to
ask for happiness for their parents and
grandparents and to be forgiven for
their mistakes past.
Sene Dolta - Ancestor
worship day
The Dolta festival is one of the
three great festivals of the Khmers. It
runs from August 29 to September 1.
The festival is organised in commemo-
ration of dead parents, missing relatives
and to wish well to those who live.
Huge crowds gather to wash Buddha statues