Khmer New Year: what it is and how it's celebrated
Khmer New Year, in mid-April, is Cambodia's biggest holiday. Learn its meaning, traditions, games and the best ways for visitors to join in respectfully.
Khmer New Year, known as Choul Chnam Thmey, is the most important holiday in Cambodia. It usually falls around 13 to 16 April, at the end of the harvest season and the hottest time of the year. Families come together, pagodas fill with worshippers and streets erupt in water fights and games.
Why April?
The festival is based on the solar calendar and marks the sun's movement into a new zodiac sign. It falls at the end of the rice harvest, a time when farmers traditionally rested and celebrated before the rains came.
The three days
The holiday is celebrated over three days, each with its own name and rituals:
- Maha Sangkran: the welcoming of the new year and its guardian angel.
- Virak Vanabat: a day for giving to the poor, honouring elders and visiting pagodas.
- Virak Loeung Sak: the start of the new year, when Buddha statues and elders are washed with scented water as a blessing.
Traditions
- Visiting pagodas: people bring food and offerings to monks and pray for good fortune.
- Sand stupas: small mounds of sand are built at pagodas, a merit-making tradition.
- Washing Buddha statues and elders: symbolising cleansing and respect.
- Cleaning and decorating homes: to welcome the new year's angel.
- Family reunions: many people travel to their home villages.
Games and fun
Traditional games such as chol chhoung (throwing a cloth ball), bos angkunh (a game with large seeds) and tug-of-war are played at pagodas and in villages. Young people splash water and throw talcum powder at each other in the streets.
How visitors can join in
- Expect to get wet, especially in tourist areas and on the roads. Protect your phone and documents.
- Join games if invited; it's all part of the fun.
- Visit a pagoda respectfully and watch the ceremonies.
- Say "Sur sdey chnam thmey" (Happy New Year).
Travel tips
- Phnom Penh becomes quiet as people leave for the provinces.
- Transport is packed before and after the holiday; book ahead.
- Many shops and restaurants close, especially family-run places.
- Siem Reap and Angkor can be busy with domestic tourists.