Khmer people in Soc Trang celebrate Chol Chnam Thmay
Khmer people in the south and the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang in particular are celebrating their traditional New Year festival Chol Chnam Thmay which falls on April 13-16 this year more quietly this year due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Soc Trang (VNA) – Khmer people in the south and theMekong Delta province of Soc Trang in particular are celebrating theirtraditional New Year festival Chol Chnam Thmay which falls on April 13-16 thisyear more quietly this year due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Venerable Tran Sia at Day Ta Suos pagoda in Phu My commune where over 90percent of the population are Khmer people, said in compliance with the PrimeMinister’s Directive No.16/CT-TTg, the Directive No.03 of the Chairman of theprovincial People’s Committee and the dispatch No.27 of the provincial PatrioticClergy Solidarity Association on COVID-19 prevention and control measures, thepagoda has persuaded local followers not to gather in crowds and wear maskswhen going to the pagoda. The pagoda also prepared hand sanitisers forvisitors.
In Thanh Quoi commune, My Xuyen district where over 50 percent of thepopulation are Khmer people, local residents also celebrated the festival inmore simple rituals. They do not hold family gatherings like normal to assistwith epidemic preventio𝓀n.
Soc Trang province is home to more than 400,000 Khmer people./.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has sent a letter to the Khmer ethnic people, congratulating them on the traditional Chol Chnam Thmay (New Year) festival.
Representatives from the Party Committee, People’s Committee, People’s Council, and Fatherland Front Committee of the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long presented gifts to Khmer people on the occasion of the ethnic minority group’s Chol Chnam Thmay (New Year) festival on April 13.
Khmer ethnic communities are celebrating their traditional New Year Festival – Chol Chnam Thmay – at home this year from April 13-16 instead of visiting pagodas as part of the national effort to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an effort to join hands with the people in the country to prevent and combat COVID-19 epidemic, Khmer people in the Mekong Delta, particularly in Soc Trang province are celebrating their new year festival - Chol Chnam Thmay - in a spirit of anti-epidemic, while still preserving their traditional culture and ensuring safety for the community.
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At a pagoda in Soc Trang (Photo: VNA) 
