Chol Chnam Thmay is the traditional New Year festival of the ethnic Khmer community in the southern provinces

With more than 400,000 Khmer people, or 30.71 percent of the province’s population, Soc Trang has the largest Khmer community in the nation, all of whom are busy decorating their houses and preparing traditional dishes to worship their ancestors and feed their guests.

During the festival, Khmer people often gather at pagodas, practice traditional customs such as gathering sand to form a small mountain, and praying for a New Year of peace, favourable weather and prosperity.

One of the most important practices in Chol Chnam Thmay is the Buddha bathing ceremony. Khmer people also bathe to pray for forgiveness for mistakes made in the previous year.

Various traditional activities such as games, dances and singing are also held during the festival. In a bid to facilitate a warm local Khmer community festival, the province has sent 25 delegates to visit and present New Year gifts.

This year, thanks to joint efforts of the Government and locals, Khmer people are welcoming their New Year festival in improved economic conditions, said Nguyen Trung Hieu, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.

Lam Hong from Vien Binh commune in Tran De district, where 60 percent of the community is Khmer, said applying large-scale rice fields helped his family earn VND 30 million (US$ 1,390) in profit per hectare. Hong, who owns 15 hectares of rice fields, said mechanised farming has helped his family cut harvest and transport costs considerably.

Soc Trang has also invested in education, and building eight new primary schools and one high school for Khmer students. Khmer people are also engaging in strengthened local administration. Currently, 13.3 percent of the total 4,554 Party members in Soc Trang are Khmer people, while nearly 5,000 Khmer people are working as public servants.