3 Cambodian girls during Khmer New Year by Marc van der Heijden • Kampuchea Art

Cambodian New Year is one of the most important festivals and is celebrated on 13, 14 and 15 April. The towns/towns empty out as everyone wants to celebrate the New Year with their families. No wonder, then, that the capital Phnom Penh is very busy.
This time of year (April) marks the end of the harvest and the rainy season is about to begin. Farmers enjoy what their harvest has yielded. Gifts are then given, accompanied by the wish: 'Sok Sabay, Ch'nam Tmey' (Happy New Year!).

In the days leading up to New Year (Chaul Chnam Thmey), Cambodians are very busy. They clean the whole house and no corner remains dirty. The New Year Angel might find out!
People prepare delicious food and buy new clothes. The husbands have to wash thoroughly and grandma has to go too. Everything has to look spic and span, because the New Year Angel might just drop by! She knows exactly which children have been sweet and which have been naughty.

Cambodia follows the Buddhist annual calendar. This means, that our year 2023 is BE at 2566. BE then means "Buddhist Era", by which everything is calculated. This "Buddhist Era" is used in mainland Southeast Asia in the countries: Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. They all celebrate the New Year in their own way.
These peoples use the lunar calendar and in this, each month has 29 or 30 days. So every few years, an extra month of 30 days is added to a year. All rules associated with the Buddhist calendar are based on the original version of the Surya Siddhanta, which dates back to the 3rd century (both the original and medieval rules of the Surya Siddhanta are applied by the different calendars).