Khmer New Year (ចូលឆ្នាំខ្មែរ, Choul Chnam Thmey) is Cambodia’s biggest holiday, celebrated for three or four days in mid-April at the end of the harvest. This page counts down to the exact moment the new year begins (មហាសង្ក្រាន្ត, Moha Songkran) and shows the date, time, New Year angel (ទេវតា) and animal year for every year from 2016 to 2030.
Choose a year to see each day of the celebration with its Khmer name: Moha Songkran, Virak Wanabat and Leung Sak. The table at the bottom lists all years at once, with the next New Year highlighted. Times are Cambodia time (UTC+7) as published in the Khmer calendar.
How to use the Khmer New Year tool
- Watch the countdown to the next Khmer New Year at the top.
- Choose a year to see its Moha Songkran date and time.
- Read the name of the New Year angel and the new animal year.
- Check the table of celebration days with their Khmer names.
- Scroll down for every Khmer New Year from 2016 to 2030 at a glance.
Why use ToolOrca Khmer New Year
- Live countdown to the next Khmer New Year
- Moha Songkran date and time (Cambodia time)
- New Year angel (ទេវតា) for each year
- New animal year
- Each day of the celebration with its Khmer name
- All years from 2016 to 2030 in one table
The three days of Khmer New Year
Moha Songkran (មហាសង្ក្រាន្ត) is the first day, when the sun enters Aries and the new angel comes down to look after the world for the year. Families clean and decorate their homes and prepare offerings to welcome her at the announced time.
Virak Wanabat (វិរៈវ័នបត) is the second day, for giving to parents, elders and the poor and for building sand stupas at the pagoda. In years when the sun takes longer, there are two Wanabat days and the holiday lasts four days. Leung Sak (វារៈឡើងស័ក) is the last day, when the new era (sak) begins and Buddha statues are bathed with scented water.
The seven New Year angels
Each year one of the seven daughters of Kabel Moha Prohm carries her father’s head in the New Year procession. Which one depends on the weekday of Moha Songkran: Sunday ទុង្សាទេវី (Tungsa), Monday គោរាគទេវី (Korak), Tuesday រាគ្យសាទេវី (Reaksa), Wednesday មន្ទាទេវី (Mondea), Thursday កិរិណីទេវី (Kiriny), Friday កិមិរាទេវី (Kimira) and Saturday មហោទរាទេវី (Mahoterak).
The animal year changes at New Year, so a child born just after Moha Songkran has the new animal sign. Use the Khmer lunar date converter to check the animal year, sak and Buddhist Era year of any day.
Frequently asked questions
When is Khmer New Year 2027?
Khmer New Year 2027 begins on Wednesday 14 April 2027 at about 16:48 Cambodia time, with Mondea Tevy (មន្ទាទេវី) as the New Year angel. The celebration runs from 14 to 16 April and starts the Year of the Goat.
Why is Khmer New Year sometimes on 13 April and sometimes on 14 April?
The start of the year follows the moment the sun enters Aries in the Khmer astronomical calendar, which falls on 13 or 14 April. When it falls on the 13th, the celebration has two Wanabat days and lasts four days.
How is the New Year angel chosen?
By the weekday of Moha Songkran. Each of the seven daughters of Kabel Moha Prohm is linked to one day of the week, from Tungsa Tevy on Sunday to Mahoterak Tevy on Saturday.
Which years does this page cover?
The Moha Songkran times come from the published Khmer calendar for 2016 to 2030. For other years, the Khmer public holidays list still shows the usual New Year days.