Khmer community in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu will celebrate their traditional New Year Chol Chnam Thmay on April 14-16 (March 26-28 of lunar calendar).
On the occasion, local administration plans to a series of entertainment activities and make visits presenting gifts to needy households and key figures of the community.
The Chol Chnam Thmay is one of the most important festivals of the year for the Khmer community. It lasts three days (four days in leap years) and is usually held in a pagoda.
During these three days, Khmer people go to visit each other and wish good health, good luck and prosperity to each other. They also join in fun activities.
Chol Chnam Thmay festival shows Khmer people’s aspirations, like many other ethnic groups, to forget about the old year’s misfortunes and look forward to a better new year.
Bac Lieu is currently home to the Kinh, Khmer and Hoa (Chinese) ethnic groups with the Khmer and Hoa numbering over 110,000, or 10.2 percent of the local population.
In 2014, 400 households of the ethnic Khmer community in the locality escaped from poverty as a result of their own efforts and the support of local authorities.
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