Celebrating Khmer New Year in 2020 was not something I had expected to do, nor dare I say even knew existed.
But, as we all know this has not been the most normal of years, the majority of the planet has had its livelihood affected, many of us have lost loved ones, and if nothing else we have all had to adapt.
Adapting led to three of us not only coming to Cambodia but as of now being stuck here. Borders and visas have been closed, a state of emergency is due to be declared by Prime-Minister Hun Sen, and worst of all for the locals Khmer New Year was to be largely canceled? We decided, that at least on a limited level we would be celebrating the new year in Cambodia. If nothing else in the hope that any new year would be better than the last.
When is Khmer New Year?
Officially it was to run from the 14th – 16th of April, but we wanted more than advice from Wikipedia and enlisted our local friends to help guide us in the ways of the new year. New Year’s eve I guess would, therefore, fall on the 13th, with new year happening at exactly 20:48 on the 13th. We are not sure why it occurred at that exact time.
How to celebrate new years eve in Cambodia?
In prep for a good old Khmer New Year, we’d prepared a table outside of the house which includes food, drinks, beer, and even cigarettes as our offering. Then at 8:48 pm we went outside, lit the incense and paid for what we wanted for the oncoming year. I’m fairly sure all of our prayers were largely similar. Food-wise there is no set traditional Khmer dish, so I cooked a beef stew. We drank soju, it felt like the right thing to do.
And thus a New Year had begun, 2564 BE (Buddhist Era), and we’d enjoyed our first-ever Cambodian New Year.
Here’s looking to things (hopefully) improving.
And tomorrow is Maha Sangkran (មហាសង្រ្កាន្ត)! New Year’s day, and thus another tale from the Street Food Guy!