Choul Chnam Thmey

Held each mid-April, Choul Chnam Thmey, or Khmer New Year, stands as Cambodia's largest and most significant festival, marking the end of the harvest season according to the ancient Maha Sangkran horoscope. Rooted in old Hindu and Buddhist customs, the three-day celebration is observed by both religious and secular Cambodians alike, uniting families who often travel to the countryside to honour their ancestors together.

Amok, Cambodia's iconic steamed fish curry, appears throughout the holiday's feasting, alongside kralan, a glutinous rice cake made with coconut milk and nuts, packed inside bamboo, steamed and then roasted, and nom banh chok, rice noodles served with a delicate fish-based green curry. Families spend the first day preparing offerings of fruit, drinks and flowers for the year's new angel, believed to arrive and bestow blessings in return for proper reverence, while the second day, Vearak Vanabat, involves gift-giving to employees and donations to those in need. In Siem Reap, the Angkor Sankranta Festival brings a more contemporary fusion of classic and modern celebrations to the temple complex itself, featuring street food and traditional games alongside Apsara dance performances.

The festival's playful water-throwing, symbolising the washing away of bad luck, gives Choul Chnam Thmey much of its lively reputation internationally, but at its heart the celebration remains genuinely rooted in family reunion, ancestor worship and gratitude for a completed harvest.