Chinese New Year 2024 in Cambodia

Even though Cambodians have their own New Year’s Day, they still celebrate the Chinese one with great joy. Many houses are decorated with yellow flowers, Pka Angkea Sel, which are supposed to bring good fortune. Lion and Dragon dances are performed on the streets. It is considered that the longer the creature is in dance, the more luck it brings to the ​audience, so people usually give small donations to keep lions dancing as long as possible.

Lunar New Year traditions

Other Lunar New Year traditions in Cambodia include Red Envelopes, called “Ang Pao,” in which people put money as a gift for relatives and children. Traditional foods are dumplings, spring rolls, and Nian Gao sweet rice cakes. All these foods are supposed to bring luck and good fortune.

Chinese New Year in Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is always busy and lavishly decorated with flowers, red couplets, and lanterns on the eve of the Lunar New Year. Many Cambodians of Chinese descent go to Phnom Wat Phnom to attend Vihear Chen Kla Sor (White Tiger Chinese temple). The temple carries out various rituals to attract luck and ward off bad luck in the new year.