Cambodia gearing up for Chinese New Year celebrations

A man chooses Lunar New Year decorations at a shop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Feb. 5, 2016. The Chinese lunar calendar assigns an animal symbol to each year in a 12-year cycle. According to the zodiac, 2016 is the Year of the Monkey starting from Feb. 8. [Xinhua/Sovannara]

Cambodians of Chinese descent have been flocking to shops to buy decorations and religious items for Chinese New Year celebrations that see the Year of the Monkey ushered in on Feb. 8.

With many Cambodians having Chinese ancestry, although it is not an official holiday in this Southeast Asian nation, the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival as it's sometimes known, is widely celebrated here.

Shops selling decorative materials and items for prayer have attracted crowds of customers over the past couple of weeks leading up to the annual festival.

"Usually, a fortnight before the New Year, business is booming. A lot of customers, sometimes thousands, come to my shop every day," Sok Ly, owner of the Hak Senghong shop in Phnom Penh, told Xinhua.

"The Spring Festival is very popular in Cambodia," he added.

His shop sells all kinds of materials for the festive celebrations, including lanterns, red paper-cut decorations, Chinese couplets, flowers, candles, joss sticks, joss paper, to name just a few. He said all materials had been purchased directly from the Chinese Mainland and China's Taiwan.

A famous Cambodian comedian, Chuang Chi, who is better known by his nickname "Koy", said his grandparents were Chinese and his family celebrated the festival every year.

"We pray to our ancestors on the occasion," he said. "Each year, I spend at least 3,000 U.S. dollars to buy the necessary things for the New Year celebrations."

"Most of the people in Cambodia enjoy celebrating the Chinese New Year because they believe that the celebrations will bring them good luck and fortunes," he added.