Draft:Khmer new year (Maha Sangkran)

• Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Noreaykh (talk) 09:33, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

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Khmer new year (Maha Sangkran)
Surya god journey with his own Sun Change the three Era of Cambodia
Also called	Sangkran Chnam Tmei Choul Chnam Thmei Choul Chnam Khmer
Observed by	Khmer people
Significance	Marks the traditional solar new year in Cambodia
Begins	14 April
Ends	16 April
Date	14 April
2026 date	14 April, Horse
Duration	3 or 4 days
Frequency	annual
Related to	South and Southeast Asian New Years

Khmer New Year (Maha Sangkran) is the Cambodian New Year, which is determined by the Buddhist calendar according to the lunar calendar. In Cambodian culture, this festival is called the "Kimhak Rodov" (Hot Season) of the student vacation. This festival comes from the Indian culture, which calls the New Year "Sangkranta", where the word Sangkrant is the original word of the Sanskrit word, which is defined by Cambodian people as (Sangkrant Khmer) is the New Year's Day, which is celebrated every 13th or 14th of April every year. All Cambodian citizens are given a day off from work or National holiday to celebrate their New Year, which lasts a whole week.

Traditions Before Khmer New Year

Before the Khmer New Year arrives, all Khmer people travel from all directions to their hometowns to reunite with their families every year. Then, they prepare to clean and decorate their homes with the tradition of hanging Star Lanterns, which they believe bring good luck, fortune, and prosperity. In addition, there are also Khmer folk games played in their villages, such as: "Chaol Chhung",leak Kansaeng, Teanh Proat, Bosh Angkunh, Pongroat Sangsar, Klaeng Chhab Kon Moan, Sdach Chong, etc. In addition to these games, there is another type of game called the water throwing ceremony. Each residence always has a bucket of water in front of their house to throw water on travelers. They believe that the bad things that have been clinging to us since the old year must be washed away in the new year. This is an indispensable tradition in Khmer traditional culture, which is related to the ceremony, Water in important for celebrating such as: Water pouring to the Buddha statue, Water pouring to the gods statue of Hindu, Water pouring to the monks, And Water pouring to parents and grandparents for respectful and grateful for the gift of birth.

Water Throwing and Powder Ceremony

In the Maha Sangkran Sutra of Cambodia, water is described as a means of bringing three auspicious things for all people: "In the morning, wash your face," "In the Noon of Sunshine, wash your chest," and "In the Night", wash your feet at night sleep. During the New Year, Cambodians also hold Water pouring ceremonies to honor their ancestors (parents), elders, monks, and Buddha statues. The traditional Cambodian New Year's water throwing or Water splashing ceremony is believed to have originated from the "Srang Preah" mean Buddha water pouring ceremony of the Angkor region, which took place during the reign of King Jayavarman VII. It describes how the Angkor region residents gathered water from all directions to wash and sprinkle the 25 Buddha statues that were being paraded at that time. The Srang Preah ceremony was held in the area of ​​Preah Khan temple according from stone inscription, which describes this event, published by Kampuchea Surya of the Khmer Traditions Association, Buddhist Scholars of Cambodia. According to the records of Zhou Daguan, a Yuan dynasty envoy from (present-day China), who recorded the Khmer New Year ceremony during the Angkor period in 1297 CE, the residents of the Angkor region gathered water from all directions to wash and pouring the Buddha statues. This indicates that the current Cambodian water-throwing ceremony or water-splashing tradition likely originated from the Khmer New Year ceremony during the Angkor period, and this water-splashing tradition has spread to the present day.