Video By: Katie Combs
Edited By: Katie Combs
Published April 15, 2012
Thousands turned out at the Wat Dhammararam Buddhist Temple on April 14 for Cambodian New Year. The celebration lasts through April 15.
By Jordan Guinn
Record Staff Writer
April 15, 2012
STOCKTON - As the aroma of tangy barbecue beef wafted through the air, sisters Stinna and Salleina Wen exchanged turns taking photographs of each other in front of vibrantly colored Buddhist statues.
The siblings were on their way to snack on papaya salad and sip on crisp coconut water straight from the young fruit when the sculptures caught their attention.
The more than two dozen statues at the Wat Dhammararam Buddhist Temple were a new sight to the two young Stockton natives, who were attending a weekend-long Cambodian New Year's celebration for the first time in several years Saturday afternoon.
"Our father is a volunteer here, and we felt we needed to embrace our heritage and reconnect with it," Salleina Wen said.
Faith, family, friendship and food serve as the cornerstones of the celebration, which drew thousands of people to the south Stockton temple on Saturday. Drivers attempting to reach the East Carpenter Street temple snaked along in a line of cars stretching to East Mariposa Road. Upon arrival, visitors browsed through dozens of tents selling toys and DVDs, presented offerings of fresh fruit in honor of deceased relatives or meditated and reflected on their faith.
"This is an opportunity to learn about Buddha and our culture," volunteer Oeun Ly said. "To cultivate understanding about his teachings and purify our minds."
The festival also played home to various carnival games, such as musical chairs, and activities that reflected culture. Several impromptu games of Tort Seiy, the foot-feather game, broke out across the temple's parking lot.
The game, similar in some respects to Hacky Sack, uses an object made of feathers attached to metal weights. The players stand in a circle attempting to keep the item airborne for as long as possible using only their feet.
The weekend event draws both outsiders and crowds from Stockton's roughly 16,000 Cambodian residents. It is by far the largest celebration of the year for Wat Dhammararam, one of the largest Cambodian temples in the state.
For Cambodian native Da Ngeth, the annual celebration is a chance to see familiar faces.
"There are friends I see out here and this is the only time I see them all year," he said.
Contact reporter Jordan Guinn at (209) 546-8279 or jguinn@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/crimeblog.
The siblings were on their way to snack on papaya salad and sip on crisp coconut water straight from the young fruit when the sculptures caught their attention.
The more than two dozen statues at the Wat Dhammararam Buddhist Temple were a new sight to the two young Stockton natives, who were attending a weekend-long Cambodian New Year's celebration for the first time in several years Saturday afternoon.
"Our father is a volunteer here, and we felt we needed to embrace our heritage and reconnect with it," Salleina Wen said.
Faith, family, friendship and food serve as the cornerstones of the celebration, which drew thousands of people to the south Stockton temple on Saturday. Drivers attempting to reach the East Carpenter Street temple snaked along in a line of cars stretching to East Mariposa Road. Upon arrival, visitors browsed through dozens of tents selling toys and DVDs, presented offerings of fresh fruit in honor of deceased relatives or meditated and reflected on their faith.
"This is an opportunity to learn about Buddha and our culture," volunteer Oeun Ly said. "To cultivate understanding about his teachings and purify our minds."
The festival also played home to various carnival games, such as musical chairs, and activities that reflected culture. Several impromptu games of Tort Seiy, the foot-feather game, broke out across the temple's parking lot.
The game, similar in some respects to Hacky Sack, uses an object made of feathers attached to metal weights. The players stand in a circle attempting to keep the item airborne for as long as possible using only their feet.
The weekend event draws both outsiders and crowds from Stockton's roughly 16,000 Cambodian residents. It is by far the largest celebration of the year for Wat Dhammararam, one of the largest Cambodian temples in the state.
For Cambodian native Da Ngeth, the annual celebration is a chance to see familiar faces.
"There are friends I see out here and this is the only time I see them all year," he said.
Contact reporter Jordan Guinn at (209) 546-8279 or jguinn@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/crimeblog.
2 comments:
The truth living God doesn't need you to bring foods to serve him, just repent yourself and trusting him and believe in him he died for sins...You will be save!!!!
Jesus Christ,
5:22 AM, Just keep your god to yourself and leave us Buddhists alone. This is Buddhist and Khmer traditions, don't try to poison our mind with your foreign belief.
Buddha taught people to never do bad things because you can never undo the bad things that you have done already. The way the Christians are taught that people can free from sin if they repent is like to encourage people to do bad thing and just repent then you will be OK. It's not OK, if you did bad thing then you can't undo it. So the best thing is to never do bad thing.
Post a Comment