Vietnamese New Year of the Khmer people

Just like the Vietnamese, the Khmer people in the Bay Nui region also celebrate the Lunar New Year in a warm and cozy atmosphere, reuniting with their family members.

Khmer Buddhists visit Cay Khoa Pagoda in An Cu commune to worship Buddha during the first days of the new year.

CULTURAL INTERFERENCE

Having lived his entire life in Cay Oi hamlet, Tinh Bien ward, Mr. Chau Che has a deep connection with the local Vietnamese community. Throughout this time, he has absorbed the beauty of Vietnamese culture while preserving his own unique spiritual life. “I find the Lunar New Year joyful and warm, and it also shares some customs with Khmer culture. During Tet, Vietnamese people often visit relatives and friends, just like the Khmer. We clean the ancestral altar and offer food during the first few days of the year to show our filial piety to our ancestors. This is a similarity between the Kinh and Khmer people during the Lunar New Year,” Mr. Chau Che said.

Pouring a cup of hot tea, Mr. Chau Che shared about how the Khmer people celebrate the Lunar New Year. Chol Chnam Thmay is the time when the new year begins, the "ageless New Year" for the Khmer people, but some still use the Lunar New Year to calculate their age because of the long-standing economic and cultural ties between the Khmer and the Kinh people, so the Khmer people calculate it this way for easier remembrance.

In Mr. Chau Che's story, I saw images of Khmer women diligently drying leaves and soaking sticky rice to wrap banh tet (Vietnamese rice cakes) in the golden sunshine of the last days of the twelfth lunar month. Mr. Chau Che said that his family usually wraps 70-80 banh tet cakes each Lunar New Year. "I wrap the cakes to offer to my ancestors, then for my children and grandchildren to eat during Tet, and to give to neighbors as a way of receiving good fortune at the beginning of the year," Mr. Chau Che said.

Khmer children in An Cu commune happily pose beside a golden apricot blossom tree during Tet (Vietnamese New Year).

Like Mr. Chau Che, Mr. Chau Soc Kop, residing in Soai Chek hamlet, An Cu commune, also celebrates the Lunar New Year quite fully each year. According to this elderly farmer, the Khmer people celebrate the Lunar New Year more lavishly because their lives are more prosperous than before. During Tet, the houses in the hamlet are filled with the fragrant aroma of braised meat in the kitchens, and the apricot blossoms in the yards are ablaze with yellow flowers. The atmosphere of welcoming spring in the villages is just as lively as in places where many Vietnamese people live. The Khmer people consider themselves part of the large Vietnamese family, all looking forward to a peaceful and renewed spring for the country. Half a month before Tet, people clean their yards and the common paths in the villages. Those who can afford it repaint and renovate their houses more beautifully, and hang some string lights in the yard. "My children and grandchildren all have jobs, so their lives are stable, and they celebrate Tet more happily. Only during the Lunar New Year do my children stay home for a long time, so the atmosphere in the house is very joyful. Every year I look forward to Tet to be reunited with my children and grandchildren," Mr. Chau Soc Kop shared.

PRESERVING TRADITIONS

Besides the similarities in how they celebrate the Lunar New Year, the Khmer people also have their own unique activities in their lives. Mr. Chau Ku, a respected figure among the Khmer community in Tinh Bien ward, said: “The Khmer people place special importance on visiting temples to worship Buddha at the beginning of the year. People usually go to the temple on the 30th day of the 12th lunar month, some even go from the 1st to the 3rd day of the 1st lunar month. This is when descendants show filial piety to their ancestors. Wherever the Khmer people go, they never forget their temple.”

Mr. Chau Ku is tending to the apricot blossom trees at Thmay Pagoda in Tinh Bien ward, preparing for the New Year.

According to Mr. Chau Ku, the Khmer New Year customs are quite similar to the traditional Sene Dolta New Year celebration. The atmosphere at Khmer temples on the first day of the year is bustling with people coming to worship Buddha, listen to scriptures, or visit each other to inquire about business, wishing each other a happy, peaceful, and prosperous new year.

After visiting the pagoda, the Khmer people return to their joyful traditions. They play some traditional New Year's games like "bong vu" or "lac bau cua." Young Khmer people, after a year of hard work at the company, have a considerable amount of money to return home for the New Year celebrations, singing and having fun. That's why some jokingly say, "The Khmer celebrate the Lunar New Year just as joyfully as the Vietnamese." "Furthermore, the Lunar New Year is also when young Khmer men and women hold their weddings. Because of the long Lunar New Year holiday and their accumulated savings, this is the most suitable time for them to hold their weddings. I often attend the weddings of my relatives and children during the New Year, and it's very enjoyable," said Mr. Chau Ku.

Buddhist followers of Nênl Non Pagoda in An Cư commune come to the pagoda to worship their ancestors during the Lunar New Year.

The image of young Khmer men and women in traditional attire holding hands amidst the joyful blessings of their relatives makes the New Year even more meaningful and special. This is also a unique feature that makes spring in the Bay Nui region so vibrant.

Mr. Chau Ku said: "As a respected figure in the community, I encourage the Khmer people to celebrate Tet (Lunar New Year) in a warm and joyful atmosphere; to always be united with the Kinh people, and to strive to improve their lives so that every time Tet comes around, everyone is happy and excited to wish each other all the best in the new year."

MINH QUAN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/tet-viet-cua-dong-bao-khmer-a476712.html