text: The full moon determines the date of the entire festival. Cambodian people celebrate these two festivals around this time because this is also when bananas, coconuts, yam, and sweet potatoes are in abundance. After the Sampeah Preah Khae ceremony, devout Buddhists gather at a pagoda at midnight for the rites associated with Ak Ambok.
  History of the dragon Makor
  Makor is a Sanskrit word meaning "sea dragon" or "strange sea creature". This word is the origin of the word "mugger" (गुंडा) in Hindi. In Hindi, the crocodile is called मकर (Makar or Makarak). It is said that there was Asura, an ascetic named Vritra, who ruled over dragons and stopped all water from flooding, which caused drought across the region. People began to pray to the gods for help. Immediately, a beautiful angel untied her hair and came down to create a water source in the area. People were very happy and named her "Goddess Ganga". At that moment, a single strand of hair of the Ganges fell to the ground and it became the sea dragon or water-monster, Makara or Makor in Khmer, which was stronger than any other animal in the world. It also swallowed up all the creatures it encountered, whether humans, Singha as lions, or Nāga dragons.