The Year of the Dog
It took me a long time to get used to the fact that most people in Cambodia who I met did not know what year they were born. They kept telling me what animal they were. It took me years to construct the cycle of twelve animals which correspond with years on our calendar. Along with that I had to learn the sophisticated names of the animals and their characteristics which people used to explain the personalities and behaviors of one another.
Another interesting practice is that when the Khmer New year arrives, everyone, in essence, has a birthday. In other words, you become another year older when the New Year enters. Khmer New Year is in mid-April, as are the Thai and Laotian New Years. The Chinese New Year, another huge festival in Cambodia, arrives around the end of January. We used to joke about the Cambodian celebrations and how fast people must age because Cambodians now like to celebrate the International New Year, the Chinese New Year and also the Khmer New Year, all within four months of each other.
Traditionally, birthdays are not celebrated, or at least not on the date of birth. In fact most people do not know their exact date of birth. In many cases, children entering school would receive new birth dates. For some whose parents did not know their child's date, the teacher would choose a date appropriate for the child's size. For others new dates were assigned to make children officially younger if they were too old for a grade. This was especially the case during war time and still is a problem for families too poor to send all their children to school. Thus, this becomes a logistical difficulty for many applying for U.S. visas. Americans cannot understand why one would have a family birthdate and a different school birthdate. Immediately immigration officers suspect documents were illegally prepared when they see birthdate discrepancies. God help the Cambodians who accidentally show documents with conflicting birthdate information to an American consulate.
February is a big birthday month in my family. Based on the Khmer calendar, I was born in the year of the dog. But based on the Chinese calendar, I was born in the next year. Next year will be the year of the pig. Which one would I rather be??? Each has its positive and negative traits, new ways of looking at animals, that's for sure!
Another interesting practice is that when the Khmer New year arrives, everyone, in essence, has a birthday. In other words, you become another year older when the New Year enters. Khmer New Year is in mid-April, as are the Thai and Laotian New Years. The Chinese New Year, another huge festival in Cambodia, arrives around the end of January. We used to joke about the Cambodian celebrations and how fast people must age because Cambodians now like to celebrate the International New Year, the Chinese New Year and also the Khmer New Year, all within four months of each other.
Traditionally, birthdays are not celebrated, or at least not on the date of birth. In fact most people do not know their exact date of birth. In many cases, children entering school would receive new birth dates. For some whose parents did not know their child's date, the teacher would choose a date appropriate for the child's size. For others new dates were assigned to make children officially younger if they were too old for a grade. This was especially the case during war time and still is a problem for families too poor to send all their children to school. Thus, this becomes a logistical difficulty for many applying for U.S. visas. Americans cannot understand why one would have a family birthdate and a different school birthdate. Immediately immigration officers suspect documents were illegally prepared when they see birthdate discrepancies. God help the Cambodians who accidentally show documents with conflicting birthdate information to an American consulate.
February is a big birthday month in my family. Based on the Khmer calendar, I was born in the year of the dog. But based on the Chinese calendar, I was born in the next year. Next year will be the year of the pig. Which one would I rather be??? Each has its positive and negative traits, new ways of looking at animals, that's for sure!
posted by Gecko Girl at
9:16 PM
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