Khmer New Year Is Been Celebrated In Cambodia.

April 2026: The Cambodian New Year also known as the Khmer New Year is celebrated from 14th April 2026 to 16th April 2026, marking the end of the harvesting season, when farmers enjoy the fruits of their labour before the rainy season begins.

The First Day Is observed as Moha Sangkrant – which is the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. People dress up and light candles and burn incense sticks at shrines, where the members of each family pay homage to offer thanks for the Buddha’s teachings by bowing, kneeling and prostrating themselves three times in front of his image. For good luck people wash their face with holy water in the morning, their chests at noon, and their feet in the evening before they go to bed.

The Second Day Is observed as Veareak Vanabat – where people contribute charity to the less fortunate by helping the poor, servants, homeless, and low-income families. Families attend a dedication ceremony to their ancestors at monasteries.

The Third Day Is observed as Veareak Laeung Sak – wherein Buddhists wash the Buddha statues and their elders with perfumed water. Bathing images of Buddha is a symbolic practice to wash bad actions away, like cleaning dirt from household items with water. It is also thought to be a kind deed that will bring longevity, good luck, happiness and prosperity in life. By washing their grandparents and parents, the children can obtain from them best wishes and good pieces of advice to live the life for the rest of the year.

In the Angkor Era, the 13th Century, the Khmer King, either Suriyavaraman II or Jayavaraman VII, changed the New Year to the fifth month of the lunar calendar, in April by the solar calendar. 95% of Khmer population are farmers, and the period from November through March is the busiest season for Khmer farmers to reap or harvest the crops from the rice fields. Khmer people can find free time in April because there is no rain, and it is very hot, so Khmer farmers have the time to take vacation after they have worked very hard to gather the rice crops from their fields to get their income. Therefore, April is the right time for Khmer in Cambodia to celebrate New Year.

The Khmer New Year festival originated from Brahmanism, a part of Hinduism, which was a religion that Khmer believed in before Buddhism. Later on, Buddhism became associated with the festival and then took all the important roles in the festivity.

Team Maverick.