7 April

The Khmer New Year is 13 April 2000 but already the country is getting ready. There is not the commercialism, the buying and selling of special gifts and foods, that was connected with the Chinese New Year in February, but there is a real sense of festivity in the air. I don't know people here well enough yet to hear their stories about their plans for the three-day celebration, but every night now, there are groups of young people out in the dirt streets, playing traditional Khmer games and just expressing the excitement of the most festive time of the year for Cambodian people. And right around the corner, for the past four nights a group has been booming out Khmer pop music with a good dance beat and I can hear lots of clapping although no singing along with music.

8 April

The Khmer School of Language, where I study two hours a day, had a new year's party for its language students this afternoon. Unfortunately I could attend only for the first hour because I was the priest celebrant for the international English community's weekend mass at 5:00 PM, but I did get to play the ong-goon game for the first time. I had seen kids playing it in the street and my language teacher was explaining it yesterday in class so it was fun to actually play it. It uses about 30 large dark brown seeds, about two inches across. Five of them are made to stand on their edge at the corners of a two-foot wide rectangle, with the fifth seed in the middle. Then twenty feet away another such rectangle is created with a team behind each of the two rectangles. Then the other seeds are thrown to try and knock down the seeds standing on edge. It's a LOT harder than it sounds! And it was actually a lot of fun for the group of 20 to 30 year olds who were playing, the boys against the girls. They were getting ready for a second game, built around a black three-foot square drawn on the concrete with charcoal, when I left. I'll have to find out what that one was when I go back to school after the holidays.

13 April

Happy New Year! Today is the first day of the Khmer new year and the beginning of a three-day celebration. People have been preparing for the celebration by cleaning their homes (to drive out evil spirits) and arranging for new clothes and some special meals together. April is the first month in the Khmer calendar (and in several others, like Sri Lanka's), and the exact date for the beginning of the new year is determined by a senior astrologer.

Day 1 is called "Maha Sahgkrant", and today a Buddhist temple bell or drum was used to lead everyone into the new year. As the bell sounds, it is believed that the New Angel arrives. During the day today people will have a special family meal (with peanut curry, noodles, and tree mushrooms), play traditional new year games, and take food to the Buddhist monks and pray with them.

14 April

Today is Day 2 of the Khmer New Year, called "Vana Bat." On this day there are more Buddhist prayers, but the main focus is on showing respect and offering gifts to the elders. Parents, grandparents, and other important members of a family, and also teachers, are all shown a special respect to recognize their place and role in Cambodian society and family life. There is also the idea of service during the new year celebrations, and the people will offer special or more generous gifts of food to the Buddhist monks who come begging for food each morning and will participate in works of service for the less fortunate. The idea of forgiveness of offenses to each person also comes into play.

15 April

Day 3 of the Khmer New Year is called "Loeung Sack." It is a day when statues of the Buddha are cleansed with perfumed water, a gesture considered a kind deed that will bring good luck, long life, and happiness. The cleaning also symbolizes a hope for enough rainfall for the rice harvest in the coming year. On the first day of the new year, individuals started to build a sand "mountain" in which each grain of sand gains merit for the builder which will produce more happiness and good health. The mountains have continued to grow through the three days, and now on this final day of the celebration, they are blessed by the monks.