April is the month that all Cambodian people await to visit their hometown to meet and reunion with their beloved family and relatives which living apart for months to years to celebrate the cultural and traditional New Year ceremony. It is an unavoidable gathering event to sharing their past happinesses and rough times and exchange with new happiness and smiling on their face and wishing for luck throughout the next whole year.
The ceremony always falls on the mid of April either 13th or 14th following lunar calendar annually.
Before the event all Cambodian families clean and decorate their house with their creativeness and prepareing an altar with some fruits, flowers and other particular stuffs for welcoming the new angel which take turn look after the people throughout the year. This action is believing to throw the bad unwanted things away and is ready to receive blessing from the new angel.
On the exact pre-predicted assuming as the start of the new year, Cambodian people are cheering and wishing for good luck. They are showing their caring and gradeful by giving their elder people such as grandparents, mother and father with new clothes, money and special food and fruits before heading to pagoda and asking for forgiveness for bad in the past year.
After that, people bring their meals for monks awaiting in pagoda and listen to their enchanting to dedicate and prayer to their ancestors.
There are many activities at the pagoda religiously believed as act of saving good fortune for their future both in this life and next life such as building the sand mountain and showering the Buddhist's statue.
After performing all their religious beliefs it is recommended to enjoy playing traditional game and touring around the pagoda. People will try to give blessing and avoid the acts of angry and sin acts. It is strongly believe that do good will receive good.
This traditional ceremony is last for three days and is specially name alternatively as Sangkranta, Vorak Vanbatt and Vorak Leangsak. This is assuming the end of national holiday. They, then leaving their family and relative back to continuing their work they are living.
