Chan Da was orphaned at the age of 10 when her parents and two siblings were killed by the Khmer Rouge. She says her life has been difficult and lonely.
On Sunday, New Year’s Day in the traditional Cambodian calendar, she went to Wat Boeng Tumpon to pray for her dead relatives. “I wish for them to be reborn into a lucky family, and not experience anything as bad as they did before,” she said.
Chan Da, 35, also prayed for her own next life. “I prayed to be reborn with parents and siblings, together, in a happy family,” she said.
All over Cambodia, people flocked to pagodas Sunday to pray, give offerings and celebrate a new beginning. Phnom Penh was quiet and empty. Nearly everyone traveled to the family home in the provinces, to celebrate the holiday and participate in traditional religious ceremonies.
In pagodas, in homes and in the streets, people played traditional New Year games, which are enjoyed only during the few weeks surrounding the holiday. They hoped for a new year of happiness, prosperity, health, business success and an end to bad luck.
On Sunday morning, Om Sas, 56, was already on her second pagoda. She was at Wat Lanka, carrying rice, cakes and sweets to give to the monks to pray for her dead ancestors.
Om Sas said she was trying to make the most of the three-day holiday. “Each day, I will go to two pagodas,” she said. “During the New Year, I am trying to go to as many pagodas as possible to get a lot of blessings.”
Hok Tha, 26, said he went to Wat Sansom Kosal on Sunday so the spirits of his ancestors will know where to find him. “In Khmer tradition, they look for their children around the pagoda,” he said.
The rice, cakes and money he brought as an offering will be a boon to his ancestors, he said. “I gave them food and money because I don’t want them to go hungry in the afterlife,” he said.
