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TL;DR: These three cases differ mainly in how the timing is calculated, the set of offerings, and the central rituals, not in completeness or correctness. The Kinh Lunar New Year follows the lunisolar calendar, usually from late twelfth lunar month to early first lunar month. Chôl Chnăm Thmay of the Khmer follows the traditional Khmer calendar, usually mid-April in the solar calendar, tied to pagodas and Theravada Buddhist rituals. The group celebrating by their own calendars includes many different cases: some celebrate earlier than Lunar New Year, some hold new-rice festivals in the ninth or tenth lunar month, and some in the Central Highlands regard the arrival of rain as the start of the new year.
Why do different ethnic groups celebrate New Year at different times?
The common point is that most ethnic groups in Vietnam have an occasion marking the transition between the old year and the new year. The difference lies in how each group's calendar and agricultural rhythm determine when that occasion falls. Dr. Trần Hữu Sơn, Director of the Vietnam Institute for Applied Research in Folk Arts, divides New Year celebrations into three forms: the group following Lunar New Year, the group following their own ethnic calendar, and the group in the Trường Sơn and Central Highlands who do not conceive of a fixed New Year day but celebrate over a long period. This division is useful for comparison, but it should be noted that it is one researcher's classification, not a mandatory standard for all ethnic groups.
The three cases compared in this article are not at the same level. Lunar New Year is an established occasion associated with the Kinh and many other ethnic groups. Chôl Chnăm Thmay is the traditional New Year of the Khmer alone. And "ethnic groups celebrating by their own calendars" is a group comprising many ethnic groups with many different New Years, not a single festival. Therefore, when comparing, the third case will be presented as a group of cases sharing the common feature of not coinciding with Lunar New Year.
What does Lunar New Year mean to the Kinh?
Lunar New Year is the largest festival of the year for the Kinh, calculated by the lunisolar calendar, usually falling from late twelfth lunar month to early first lunar month. VietnamPlus notes that many ethnic minorities also celebrate Lunar New Year, such as the Muong, Tho, Chut, Mang, Khang, Xinh Mun, Khơ Mú in the Northwest, the O Du in Nghệ An, the Tay, Thai, Nung, Sán Chay, Cao Lan, Sán Chỉ, Giay, Lu, Bo Y, La Chí, La Ha, Cờ Lao, Pu Péo, Dao, Pà Thẻn, Hmong in the Northeast, along with the Hoa, Ngai, Sán Dìu, Phù Lá, Hà Nhì in Lào Cai. These groups still keep their own traditional customs but align their New Year timing with Lunar New Year.
The characteristic of Lunar New Year lies in the chain of rituals tied to family and community: ancestor worship, New Year's Eve worship, New Year greetings, lucky money, along with customs such as erecting the cay neu pole, wrapping banh chung and banh tet depending on the region. The reference sources provided for this article do not go into detail on the specific offerings and rituals of Lunar New Year among the Kinh, so the presentation here stops at a general level regarding the timing and position of the occasion in the year.
What is Chôl Chnăm Thmay of the Khmer?
Chôl Chnăm Thmay, also written Chaul Chnam Thmay, is the New Year celebration according to the traditional calendar of the Khmer people. "Chol" means "to enter," "Chnam Thmay" means "new year." According to Nhân Dân newspaper, the festival usually takes place around mid-April in the solar calendar. The source Báo Ảnh Dân toc va Mien nui specifies more precisely: from 13 to 15 April in the solar calendar, and 14 to 16 April in leap years. This is the largest festival of the year for the Khmer, with many similarities to Bunpimay of Laos, Songkran of Thailand, and Thingyan of Myanmar.
Origin and explanations from the sources
According to Nhân Dân, the origin of Chôl Chnăm Thmay is explained by a legend related to the transfer of religion from Brahmanism to Buddhism, revolving around a contest of wits between the Great Brahma and the boy Thom Ma Bal, a former incarnation of the Buddha. After losing, the god Kabul Maha Prum cut off his own head and instructed his daughters to take turns descending to earth each year to protect the people, bless them with a peaceful year and a bountiful harvest. The Khmer regard that day as the first day of the new year.
Also according to Nhân Dân, a second explanation is tied to the agricultural rhythm: April is the transition between the dry and rainy seasons, when plants become lush again and nature revives. The Khmer regard this change as the beginning of a new year, and holding the festival stems from the purpose of praying for the dry season to pass quickly so the new crop can begin. These two explanations coexist in the source and do not exclude each other.
Main festival days
Nhân Dân reports that in the past Chôl Chnăm Thmay lasted from 10 to 15 days, while in recent decades it has been reduced to 3 days, not counting preparation work beforehand. These three days are calculated according to the Khmer calendar, influenced by astronomy transmitted from India, with two methods: "Chol" following the movement of the moon, "Chnam" following the movement of the sun.
The first day is the procession of the Great Calendar (Maha Sangkran). People bathe, wear nice clothes, and bring offerings to the pagoda. The Great Calendar is placed on a gilded lacquer tray, carried on a palanquin around the main hall three times, then the procession enters the main hall, where the chief monk receives the Great Calendar, places it on the altar, and chants sutras. Nhân Dân notes that the Great Calendar procession has a meaning similar to the New Year's Eve ceremony in Lunar New Year of the Vietnamese and many other peoples.
The second day is the offering of rice and the building of sand mountains. Khmer people in the village bring rice to the pagoda to offer to the monks and listen to Buddhist chanting. In the afternoon, the sand mountain ceremony takes place, based on the belief that each grain of sand piled into a mountain will liberate one sinner in the world. Nhân Dân notes that today the sand mountain building is only held in years when the pagoda is under construction, and some pagodas substitute rice or grain mountains.
The third day is the last day of the festival. According to Báo Ảnh Dân toc va Mien nui, after offering rice to the monks, people perform the ceremony of bathing Buddha statues with scented water, to express gratitude to the Buddha, wash away misfortunes of the old year, and pray for all wishes to come true in the new year.
Offerings on the altar
According to Nhân Dân, at the moment of transition, the Khmer arrange a tray of offerings including five candles, five incense sticks, five cups of young sticky rice, a pair of coconuts, two glasses of water, fresh flowers, and 11 kinds of fruit to welcome the deities and ancestors. Notably, the Khmer transition moment is not 0:00 like the solar New Year or Lunar New Year, but is based on the moment the celestial maiden descends, with the A Cha at the pagoda performing the ceremony and announcing it to the people.
Which ethnic groups celebrate New Year by their own calendars?
This is a group comprising many ethnic groups with different New Years, the common point being that the timing of the new year does not coincide with Lunar New Year. According to the classification by Dr. Trần Hữu Sơn cited on VietnamPlus, this group includes the Hmong in the Northwest and North Central Coast with Nào Pồ Trầu New Year, the Hoa Hà Nhì in Lai Châu and Điện Biên with Hồ Sự Chà New Year, the Cong in Điện Biên with Ủy La Lóng New Year, the La Hủ in Lai Châu with Khộ Xớ New Year, the Si La in Lai Châu and Điện Biên with O Xị Già New Year, the Cham with Rija Nưgar New Year, and the Khmer in the South with Bon Chôl Chnam Thmây.
It should be noted that this source places the Khmer Chôl Chnăm Thmay in the group celebrating by their own calendars. Meanwhile, this article separates Chôl Chnăm Thmay into its own case to compare directly with Lunar New Year, as required by the topic. This separation is a presentation convention of the article and does not deny the source's classification.
The case of Hồ Sự Chà New Year of the Hà Nhì
According to artisan Pờ Dần Xinh in Tả Kố Khừ village, Sín Thầu commune, Mường Nhé district, Điện Biên province, cited on VietnamPlus, the Hà Nhì celebrate Hồ Sự Chà New Year, just as the Vietnamese celebrate Lunar New Year, but organize it earlier than the Lunar New Year of the lowland people. Usually around December in the solar calendar, when the harvest is finished, the Hà Nhì choose the Dragon day, the most auspicious in the month, to hold the new year ceremony. The festival lasts 3 days.
The new year ceremony begins early in the morning. The women in the village make floating rice cakes to offer to the deities, asking permission for the family to slaughter a pig for the festival. On New Year days, every household must slaughter a pig. If the Vietnamese offer chicken and use chicken feet to read fortunes for the new year, the Hà Nhì slaughter pigs and use the pig's liver to read good or bad omens for the year. After slaughtering the pig and reading the liver, the household head takes a small portion from each part of the pig, cooks porridge to offer to ancestors and deities, praying for good harvests, healthy buffaloes and cows, and good luck for the family. Then family members eat the new year meal and go to wish New Year to relatives and neighbors in the village. When night falls, amid the sound of gongs and drums, villagers join hands and dance around the fire.
The case of new rice New Year of the Khơ Mú
Also according to VietnamPlus, the Khơ Mú and some swidden farming groups usually celebrate the new year in the ninth or tenth lunar month. The new year celebration of the Khơ Mú is the new rice festival. Later, some places celebrate Lunar New Year, but the new rice festival remains the most important, with many rituals and symbolic offerings of the New Year day.
The Central Highlands and Trường Sơn group
The third group according to Dr. Trần Hữu Sơn's classification is the ethnic groups in Trường Sơn and the Central Highlands such as Gia Rai, E De, Ba Na, Xơ Đăng, Cơ Ho, Hre, Mnong, Raglai, Xtieng, Cơ Tu, Gié Triêng, Ma, Co, Chơ Ro, Chu Ru, Brau, Rơ Măm. These groups do not conceive of a fixed New Year day but celebrate over a long period from the first to the third lunar month each year. Most indigenous groups here follow the agricultural calendar. After the dry season, when the first rains come with the first thunder of the year signaling the approaching rainy season, around late second to early third lunar month, they regard that as the start of the new year.
Each group celebrates the new year in its own way, as listed by VietnamPlus: the Xơ Đăng hold the water trough repair ceremony and the water drop festival, the Mnong hold a peace ceremony for the whole village, the Ma hold the rice god ceremony, the Brau hold the rice sowing ceremony, the E De hold Mnam Thun New Year, the Hre hold Htend New Year. The source also notes that a group such as the Tà Ôi and Bru Vân Kiều previously celebrated New Year in the dry season like the Central Highlands groups, but in recent decades have shifted to celebrating two New Years, both Lunar New Year by the common calendar and their own traditional New Year.
Comparison table of main differences
| Criterion | Lunar New Year of the Kinh | Chôl Chnăm Thmay of the Khmer | Ethnic groups celebrating by their own calendars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Names | Lunar New Year | Chôl Chnăm Thmay, also written Chaul Chnam Thmay, Bon Chôl Chnam Thmây | Many different names: Hồ Sự Chà, Nào Pồ Trầu, Ủy La Lóng, Khộ Xớ, O Xị Già, Rija Nưgar, new rice festival, Mnăm thun, Htend, water drop festival |
| Timing | Late twelfth lunar month to early first lunar month | Mid-April solar calendar, usually 13 to 15 April, leap years 14 to 16 April | Varies by group: Hà Nhì around December solar calendar, Khơ Mú ninth or tenth lunar month, Central Highlands groups from first to third lunar month |
| Basis for timing | Lunisolar calendar | Traditional Khmer calendar, influenced by Indian astronomy, calculated by moon and sun movements | Agricultural calendar, crop seasons, or each group's own calendar |
| Typical offerings and rituals | Ancestor worship, New Year's Eve worship, New Year greetings, lucky money (source does not go into detail) | Tray of offerings including 5 candles, 5 incense sticks, 5 cups of young sticky rice, a pair of coconuts, two glasses of water, fresh flowers, 11 kinds of fruit; Great Calendar procession, rice offering, sand mountain building, Buddha statue bathing | Hà Nhì slaughter pigs and read pig liver, cook porridge to offer; Khơ Mú hold new rice festival; Central Highlands groups hold ceremonies tied to water, rice god, village peace |
| Central ritual space | Family, home, communal house or pagoda depending on region | Khmer pagoda, under the direction of the A Cha or Achar | Family, village, fields, water trough, depending on group |
| Duration | Source does not specify in this article's references | Formerly 10 to 15 days, now 3 days, not counting preparation | Hà Nhì 3 days; Central Highlands groups celebrate over a long period from first to third lunar month |
What should you note when reading the comparison table?
The table above compares differences and does not aim to rank which case is more complete or correct. Some cells are left blank or marked "source does not specify" because the article's references have not covered enough. Specifically, information on the detailed offerings and rituals of Lunar New Year among the Kinh is incomplete in the collected sources, so the presentation in this case stops at a general level. Similarly, the duration of Lunar New Year is not stated in the article's references.
Regarding the group celebrating by their own calendars, the sources are also not fully consistent in classification. VietnamPlus cites Dr. Trần Hữu Sơn's three-form division, in which the Khmer Chôl Chnăm Thmay is placed in the group celebrating by their own calendars. This article's presentation separates Chôl Chnăm Thmay into its own case as required by the comparison, which is a convention of the article, not a refutation of the source's classification.
Another point to note is that the names of ethnic groups in this article follow the list of Vietnam's ethnic components. Names such as Khơ Me, Chàm, Mèo are familiar in some older documents, but this article uses the official names Khmer, Cham, Mong.
Do all ethnic groups celebrate only one New Year per year?
No. VietnamPlus notes that the Tà Ôi and Bru Vân Kiều previously celebrated New Year in the dry season like the Central Highlands groups, but in recent decades have shifted to celebrating two New Years, both Lunar New Year by the common calendar and their own traditional New Year. Similarly, some Khơ Mú places celebrate Lunar New Year, but the new rice festival remains the most important. This shows that New Year celebrations are not fixed but can change over time and according to the living conditions of each community.
Why should one way of celebrating New Year not be taken as the standard to measure the others?
Each way of celebrating New Year is tied to a specific calendar system and agricultural rhythm. Lunar New Year is tied to the lunisolar calendar and the wet rice agricultural cycle in the plains. Chôl Chnăm Thmay is tied to the traditional Khmer calendar and the transition from the dry to the rainy season in the South. The New Years by their own calendars are tied to each group's agricultural calendar, sometimes to the finished harvest, sometimes to the first thunder of the season signaling the start of swidden farming. Therefore, differences in timing, offerings, and rituals are differences in adaptation to the environment and calendar system, not a scale of evaluation.
