What month is the Khmer New Year? When? From the time of the Khmer Empire to the Khmer Empire, we used the lunar calendar (the lunar cycle) to determine the month of Migasir as the new year, and the first month is the month of Katika, which is the 12th month. Later, people began to use the solar calendar (the solar cycle) as the main method, and determined the new year in the month of Chetra (the 5th month), which is the year when the sun enters the zodiac sign. The new year is always on the 13th of April (Chetra) every year, but over time, there have been some exceptions, such as the 14th day of the year, such as the 2014 lunar calendar. The Maha Sangkrant that uses the solar calendar to calculate the new year is called "Samdangkrant" (the sun passes directly overhead as Sangkrant). The Maha Sangkrant that uses the lunar calendar to calculate the new year is called "Ayum Sangkrant" (when the sun passes vertically, not directly overhead). They still use the lunar calendar and the solar calendar because the lunar calendar is related to many Buddhist teachings. The Lunar New Year is not a regular day, sometimes it is during the Khmer New Year, sometimes during the Lunar New Year. But within a month, it is not before the 4th day of the month of Chet and not after the 4th day of the month of Visakha, so some Sankranti falls in the month of Visakha.
Preparation for the New Year: For other ceremonies, our Khmer people prepare according to the following traditions. Before the New Year, they prepare food, clean the house, pour water into jars, find firewood, cut new clothes, etc. When the New Year arrives, they prepare religious offerings to welcome the new deity, including a pair of rice cakes, a pair of sla dharma, 5 incense sticks, 5 candles, a pair of perfumes, flowers, flowers, a glass of water, and drinks, cakes, and fruits of all kinds. As for the houses, they decorate them with small electric lights, colorful lights, or lanterns, and lanterns of all colors to welcome the new deity. When the time comes for the new deity to descend, they bring their children and sit together near the place where the sacred objects are arranged, light candles, burn incense, and pray for the new deity to bring good luck in all matters. As for the sacred objects and food to offer to the deity, they usually choose according to the wishes of the deity that will descend in each year. For example: If the deity that is to descend eats sesame seeds, beans, sesame seeds, etc., they offer them... The three-day ceremony of the New Year is as follows:
Day 1: They take food to offer to the monks at the temple. In the evening, they carry sand to build a pagoda around the temple or around a Bodhi tree in the temple. At dusk, they offer drinks to the monks, invite them to perform the precepts, and give sermons.
Day 2: Children give clothes, food, and money to the benefactors, parents, grandparents, etc. Sometimes they also give alms to servants or the poor. In the afternoon, they go to the sand mountain again and recite the mantras and pray to the sand mountain, which is considered to be a temple, and invite the monks to pray to the temple to send blessings to the spirits of their deceased brothers or sisters.
Day 3: In the morning, invite the monks to cross the sand mountain. In the evening, invite the monks to draw water and draw Buddha images (according to the customs of some regions). On the occasion of the New Year, they play many games, folk entertainment, and fun, such as playing, throwing arrows, throwing bamboo, pulling arrows, hiding scarves, catching kites, etc., and there is also a trodi dance (mostly in Battambang, Siem Reap, and today there are some in Phnom Penh). In particular, the round dance depends on the preferences of each person. Some people like to walk around, while others like to make offerings at the monastery.
The simple word for "Pun Phnom Khes". To build this mountain, they take pure sand and pour it in the middle of a designated area and build it in the shape of a stupa, facing east. It is believed to be called "Vealok Chetiya" which represents the Cholamani Chetiya built to bury the Kesa and the Chongkom, the glass of the Buddha Paramguru. To build this mountain, currently in some areas, it is popular to build a rice mountain in a school or in a temple. The sand mountain that is built is not limited to how small or high it is done according to the satisfaction of the builder. But there must be a mountain in the middle and there must be 4 small mountains surrounding all 4 small directions. Around the mountain, they build a palace decorated with palm leaves and fronds in four corners, with doors in all 4 main directions. Around the palace, they arrange the devas in all 8 directions. On each deva's palace, they arrange a pair of sladharma, a pair of rice, 5 candles, 5 incense sticks, flowers and candles for offering incense. In front of the sand mountain outside the palace, three other large shrines were set up for offering offerings to Yamaraja. In the middle, to the left of Yamaraja's shrine, is the Buddhakun shrine, and to the right is the Pishnukara shrine. These three large shrines are decorated with the same worship items as the shrines of the gods, but the shrines are nine stories high, and there are places for clothes on the left and right sides, and there are places for offering offerings.
In the Anisang, the Supreme Being spoke about the Anisang who built meritorious deeds on the occasion of the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year, detailing that those who bathe (drain) water for their parents, teachers, monks, or monks on the occasion of Sangkranti will become kings and lords of the earth, endowed with great wealth, adorned with seven jewels, adorned with beautiful women, and endowed with a four-armed army, and will attain all kinds of happiness.
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