15 April 2009
By John Vink/Magnum
Ka-set
Click here to wath the slideshow with sound of the Khmer New Year, Buddhist Era 2553, Year of the Ox. Photos and sound by John Vink/MagnumFlashplayer required
Showing posts with label 2009 Khmer New Year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009 Khmer New Year. Show all posts
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Khmer New Year - Slideshow with sound
The Year of the Ox
15 April 2009
By John Vink/Magnum
Ka-set
Click here to wath the slideshow with sound of the Khmer New Year, Buddhist Era 2553, Year of the Ox. Photos and sound by John Vink/Magnum
Flashplayer required
15 April 2009
By John Vink/Magnum
Ka-set
Click here to wath the slideshow with sound of the Khmer New Year, Buddhist Era 2553, Year of the Ox. Photos and sound by John Vink/MagnumFlashplayer required
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
This Year, a Blood Goddess To Protect Cambodia
By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
14 April 2009
Original report from Phnom Penh
14 April 2009
Cambodians joyously celebrated the first day of the New Year early Tuesday, in celebrations that began at 1:36 am with fireworks exploding over Phnom Penh.
The nation’s 14 million revelers brought in the Year of the Ox, the 2553rd year of the Buddhist calendar, preparing for three days of celebrations and ritual.
“Not specifically for this year, but every New Year, Cambodian citizens must prepare flowers, fruits, Baysei [religious decorations], water and drink offerings to the goddesses, who come down [from the sky] annually to protect human beings,” said Miech Ponn, adviser to the board of Khmer customs at the Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh.
“The preparations for the goddess must also respect the preferences of the goddess, what kind of fruit she eats this year,” he said. “For example, if the goddess eats bananas, it is mandatory that believers must have bananas.”
Seven goddesses of the Kabel Morha Prumh rotate from the sky to watch over the country, he said. This year is for the third goddess, Reak Ksaksar Devy, who has a predilection for blood—denoting a year of possible bloodshed, such as in war and accidents, he said.
While appeasing the goddess, Cambodians will also undertake Buddhist rituals, meditating for their ancestors and washing statues of Buddha, while also engaging in tradition folk games that include hiding a scarf for the Leak Kanseng and others.
The nation’s 14 million revelers brought in the Year of the Ox, the 2553rd year of the Buddhist calendar, preparing for three days of celebrations and ritual.
“Not specifically for this year, but every New Year, Cambodian citizens must prepare flowers, fruits, Baysei [religious decorations], water and drink offerings to the goddesses, who come down [from the sky] annually to protect human beings,” said Miech Ponn, adviser to the board of Khmer customs at the Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh.
“The preparations for the goddess must also respect the preferences of the goddess, what kind of fruit she eats this year,” he said. “For example, if the goddess eats bananas, it is mandatory that believers must have bananas.”
Seven goddesses of the Kabel Morha Prumh rotate from the sky to watch over the country, he said. This year is for the third goddess, Reak Ksaksar Devy, who has a predilection for blood—denoting a year of possible bloodshed, such as in war and accidents, he said.
While appeasing the goddess, Cambodians will also undertake Buddhist rituals, meditating for their ancestors and washing statues of Buddha, while also engaging in tradition folk games that include hiding a scarf for the Leak Kanseng and others.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Cambodian New Year falls on early morning of April 14
PHNOM PENH, April 1 (Xinhua) -- New Year on the Cambodian calendar will fall at 01:36 local time of April 14 (1836 GMT of April 13), Chinese-language daily newspaper the Commercial News said on Wednesday.
An Apsara, or fairy lady in Cambodian folklore, in black costumes and on a horse, will descend from heaven to the land of the kingdom at that time, to safeguard Cambodia during the New Year season, astrologers told the paper.
Prior to the New Year time, people can set up a table in front of their houses with 11 kinds of fruits and candles on sacrifice to welcome the fairy lady's arrival, they added.
The government has set April 14 to 16 as national holiday to celebrate the New Year.
During the holiday, people usually visit pagodas and pray for peace and prosperity in the coming year.
An Apsara, or fairy lady in Cambodian folklore, in black costumes and on a horse, will descend from heaven to the land of the kingdom at that time, to safeguard Cambodia during the New Year season, astrologers told the paper.
Prior to the New Year time, people can set up a table in front of their houses with 11 kinds of fruits and candles on sacrifice to welcome the fairy lady's arrival, they added.
The government has set April 14 to 16 as national holiday to celebrate the New Year.
During the holiday, people usually visit pagodas and pray for peace and prosperity in the coming year.
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