|
"We should never let the New Year ceremony not happen. We should keep doing this every year, even though it is not the same as Cambodia. In Cambodia, it was easier. You could walk to the temple with your friends. You could leave your work, but here you have to work.."
-Loch Krang
The New Year festival is one of the most significant holidays of the year. Families from all over the Southeast gather one Sunday in mid-April at the Greensboro Buddhist Center to celebrate their heritage and renew their faith.
It’s a time for washing away the old and ushering in the new. People from all ages cleanse the Buddha statues. They offer prayers to their elders requesting forgiveness for the past year’s misdeeds. Families bring donations to support the temple in the coming year.
The entire day is also about having fun with colorful dances, delicious food, games for all ages, and lots of time for visiting. What begins with people sprinkling each other with water as a gesture of good luck erupts into active water fights in which no one is left dry.
> Learn about A Return to Cambodia
> Return to Community
|
|
People here know how to work together and know how to help each other. We have the temple and we go to the temple, meet each other and we keep each other like brothers and sisters".
