by Ek Madra, Zhang Ruiling
PHNOM PENH, Feb. 8 — The Chinese New Year will not begin until Sunday but many Cambodians rushed to prepare ahead for the coming celebration.
The Chinese New Year is getting more popular among Cambodians who live in the capital and provincial towns in recent years.
Entering Lay Muy's shop, people can see full of colorful new year's articles: red lanterns, red couplets, red stickers and other goods for celebrating the Chinese New Year.
Lay Muy, 18, who sells Chinese red lanterns and New Year pictures, said "this is the good week to sell these kinds of items."
She said this while she was busy receiving cash from customers who bought stickers from her shop at the south of the central market, Phsar Thmei.
Muy said around 30 people, many of them have Chinese blood, bought the items from her shop a day since last week.
"I see a lot of Cambodia-Chinese buy them," she said. But at the same time, she also noticed that many Cambodians who speak no word in Chinese, but are also interested in shopping fireworks and banners in Chinese.
"Some customers asked me, where should they place them? Which ones should be on the wall or sticking next to the God house," Muy said as she laughed.
Another seller, Phoung Eng, 18, said her customers like the red color, which represents luck and prosperity for their families.
"Some people do not have Chinese blood, yet they want to celebrate the event because they see it as a happy day," Eng said, adding that her parents imported the items from China.
Many Cambodians said that Chinese cultural items sprung up in the capital of this kingdom, thanks to Beijing's good relations with Phnom Penh as well as Chinese investors who flocked to invest in this Southeast Asian nation.
"Over the last ten years I have noticed that more Cambodians celebrated Chinese New Year, which resulted from the good relations between the two countries and more contact between the two people, I think," said another woman seller, Chea Sokhom, 29, who worked near the main Cambodian market of Cambodia.
The red and golden color of the tiger pictures are being stuck on the door of her shop, which represents the Chinese New Calendar 2010 is the Year of the Tiger.
Another 17-year-old student, Sam So Panha, said "I can see Chinese and Cambodian live together in harmony like blood brothers. They celebrate the event and drink together regardless of their race."
"My parents bought lots of lanterns and stickers of lucks this year," he said.
There are more than 700,000 Chinese in Cambodia, who have generally retained Chinese traditional cultural norms and customs, though they have lived abroad for decades. Moreover, many Cambodians married Chinese and celebrated the new year together with the Chinese people.
Sok Hong, a friend in Information Ministry, said that China's lunar year holiday is a good tradition, because at this time of year, family people, nowhere they are living and working, will do their best to go home for the family reunion which preserves the peace in the family and continues the family tradition.
Puy La, a local media reporter, said that the Royal Government of Cambodia has paid more attention to Chinese New Year in recent years.
Prime Minister Hun Sen and many government officials expressed their congratulations to the Chinese and overseas Chinese living and working in the country, Puy said. (PNA/Xinhua) vcs/utb