Hello! My name is Reaksmey Mao. I am a scholarship student at Build Bright University supported by JWOC. I would like to tell you about Khmer New Year, but before describing to you the activities during Khmer New Year, I want to tell you the definition of Khmer New Year.
“Khmer
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 13 or
14th, which signals 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 -15th. The Khmer New Year coincides with the traditional solar new year
in several parts of India, Myanmar, Thailand and SriLanka.
Cambodians also use Buddhist Era to count the year based on
the Buddhist calendar. For 2014 it is 2558 BE (Buddhist Era).
Every
year, I always go to my hometown to enjoy the time spent with my family, relatives
and all my friends and neighbors. I am really happy every time that I go home for
either festivals, Khmer New Year or Pchum Ben. In Khmer New Year, we dress up
and light candles and burn incense sticks at shrines, where the members of my
family pay homage and offer thanks for the Buddha's teachings by bowing,
kneeling and prostrating ourselves three times. For good luck we wash our face
with holy water in the morning, our chests at noon, and our feet in the evening
before we go to bed.
Khmer
New Year is an opportunity for all Cambodia to unite and for foreign friends to
receive unforgettable and special experiences if they visit Cambodia at this
time.
As
a scholarship student at JWOC I want to speak on behalf on all of the other
students. Thank you to everyone who has supported us through higher education
and we wish you all the best of luck, happiness, health, success with your work
and studies, Happy Khmer New Year.
