Khmer New Year

Khmer New Year — known in Khmer as Chol Chnam Thmey (literally “entering the new year”) — is the most important holiday in Cambodia. It marks the end of the harvest season, the start of the solar new year in the Khmer calendar, and three days of family, pagoda, food, and play.

Unlike Lunar New Year in China or Vietnam, Khmer New Year follows the solar calendar and falls on roughly the same dates each year. It happens in mid-April — the hottest month, after the rice has been harvested and before the rains return. Banks, schools, and government offices close for at least three days. Phnom Penh empties out as people travel to their home provinces, and the streets — usually a riot of motorbike traffic — go quiet for the first time all year.

When is Khmer New Year?

The three official days are usually April 13, 14, and 15 — but the exact start day shifts slightly based on the Khmer astrological calendar. In some years (like 2026), the festival runs April 14 to 16. The government publishes the official dates each year, usually in December or January.

• 2026: April 14–16 (Tuesday to Thursday)
• 2025: April 14–16
• 2024: April 13–16 (4 days that year)

The three days

Each day of Khmer New Year has its own name and meaning. The traditions are rooted in Brahmanism and Theravada Buddhism, blended together over centuries.

Traditional games

Khmer New Year is the one time of year when traditional Khmer games come out of the village and onto every street corner. They are simple, social, and very loud.

• Chol Chhoung (ចោល​ឈូង) — two teams stand 20 metres apart and throw a knotted scarf back and forth. Whoever drops it has to sing a song while the other team teases. Common at pagodas at sunset.
• Leak Konseng (លាក់​កន្សែង) — a circle game similar to “Duck Duck Goose.” One person walks around the circle behind seated players carrying a folded scarf, drops it secretly behind one of them, then races. Played by all ages.
• Bos Angkunh (បោះ​អង្គុញ) — players take turns throwing big, round tropical-tree seeds (angkunh) at a target stack. Looks like lawn bowls. Often played by adults and the winner gets to flick the loser's ankle.
• Teanh Proat (ទាញព្រ័ត្រ) — Khmer tug-of-war, often between two villages or two halves of the same family. The losing side has to pay the winning side's next meal.

What to eat

Khmer New Year food is built around what keeps well in April heat: rice, coconut, sugar, and pork. Three names every visitor should know:

• Kralan (ក្រឡាន) — sweet sticky rice with coconut milk, mung beans, and black-eyed peas, stuffed into a green bamboo tube and roasted over an open fire. Smells of bamboo and char. Sold by roadside vendors all over the country during the festival week.
• Num Ansom (នំ​អន្សម) — a fat cylinder of sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf and steamed for hours. Two main fillings — sweet (banana) and savoury (pork belly + mung beans). Cut into thick rounds for sharing.
• Num Kom (នំ​គម) — a small pyramid-shaped sweet rice cake with a palm-sugar centre, wrapped in a banana-leaf cone. Often offered to monks first thing in the morning.

For visitors — what to expect

Khmer New Year is wonderful but it changes how Cambodia works for about a week. A few practical notes:

• Banks & ATMs: banks close for the three official days plus often the day before. ATMs still work but get drained — withdraw cash at least 48 hours before.
• Transport: domestic buses fill up two weeks ahead. National Road 5 (to Battambang) and Road 6 (to Siem Reap) become very busy April 12–13 and 16–17. Allow extra travel time.
• Phnom Penh empties: if you stay, you'll see a side of the city tourists rarely see — quiet, walkable, all the riverside restaurants open but the office crowds gone.
• Angkor Wat: Siem Reap has a special event called Angkor Sangkran with concerts, food stalls, and traditional games on the temple grounds. Massive crowds — book hotels months ahead.
• Water-splashing: in some areas (especially Siem Reap and the provinces) young people throw water at passers-by — similar to Songkran in Thailand. Friendly, but expect to get soaked if you walk around.
• Pagoda etiquette: dress modestly (shoulders & knees covered), remove shoes before entering temple buildings, no pointing feet at Buddha statues, no loud conversations near monks.

A word about respect

Khmer New Year is a time when Cambodian families honor parents, grandparents, and ancestors. If you're invited into a Cambodian home during the festival, bring a small gift (fruit baskets, sweets, or pre-packaged food are perfect — flowers are more for funerals), greet elders first with a soft chom reap suor and a sampeah (palms pressed together, head slightly bowed). You'll be welcomed warmly.