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Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, two main
calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...
systems are used alongside each other: the
Thai solar calendar The Thai solar calendar (, , "solar calendar") was adopted by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in 1888 Common Era, CE as the Siamese version of the Gregorian calendar, replacing the Thai lunar calendar as the legal Thai calendar (though the latter i ...
, based on the
Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...
and used for official and most day-to-day purposes, and the Thai lunar calendar (a version of the
Buddhist calendar The Buddhist calendar is a set of lunisolar calendars primarily used in Tibet, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam as well as in Malaysia and Singapore and by Chinese populations for religious or o ...
, technically a
lunisolar calendar A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, that combines monthly lunar cycles with the solar year. As with all calendars which divide the year into months, there is an additional requirement that the year have a whole number of mont ...
), used for traditional events and Buddhist religious practices.


History

The use of the solar-based calendar was introduced in 1889 by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), replacing the lunar calendar in official contexts. The beginning of the year was originally marked as April 1st, however this was changed to January 1st in 1941. The days and months now correspond exactly to the Gregorian calendar. The years follow the Buddhist Era, introduced in 1913 to replace the Rattanakosin Era, which in turn replaced the Chula Sakarat in 1889. The reckoning of the Buddhist Era in Thailand is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar (
Anno Domini The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used when designating years in the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian and Julian calendar, Julian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord" but is often presented using "o ...
), so the year AD corresponds to B.E. .


Usage

The lunar calendar contains 12 or 13 months in a year, with 15 waxing moon and 14 or 15 waning moon days in a month, amounting to years of 354, 355 or 384 days. The years are usually noted by the animal of the
Chinese zodiac The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year (or duodenary) cycle. The zodiac is very important in traditional ...
, although there are several dates used to count the New Year. As with the rest of the world, the seven-day
week A week is a unit of time equal to seven days. It is the standard time period used for short cycles of days in most parts of the world. The days are often used to indicate common work days and rest days, as well as days of worship. Weeks are ofte ...
is used alongside both calendars. The solar calendar now governs most aspects of life in Thailand, and while official state documents invariably follow the Buddhist Era, the Common Era is also used by the private sector. The lunar calendar determines the dates of Buddhist holidays, traditional festivals and astrological practices, and the lunar date is still recorded on birth certificates and printed in most daily newspapers.


Calendars

* Red numerals mark
Sunday Sunday (Latin: ''dies solis'' meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a Christian sabbath, day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the Workweek and weekend, weekend. In some Middle Ea ...
s and
public holidays in Thailand Public holidays in Thailand are regulated by the Government of Thailand, government, and most are observed by both the public and private sectors. There are usually nineteen public holidays in a year, but more may be declared by the Cabinet of Tha ...
. *
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
images mark Buddhist Sabbaths, ''Wan Phra'' (). * Red tablets with white
Chinese characters Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...
mark the New and Full Moons of the
Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar, dating back to the Han dynasty, is a lunisolar calendar that blends solar, lunar, and other cycles for social and agricultural purposes. While modern China primarily uses the Gregorian calendar for officia ...
, which typically differ by one day from those of the Thai. * Thai lunar calendar dates appear below the solar calendar date.


Birthdays

Mundane
astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...
figures prominently in
Thai culture Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia. ** Thai people, Siamese people, Central/Southern Thai people or Thai noi people, an ethnic group from Central and Southern Thailand. ** , Thai minority in southern Myan ...
, so modern Thai birth certificates include lunar calendar dates, and the appropriate
Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar, dating back to the Han dynasty, is a lunisolar calendar that blends solar, lunar, and other cycles for social and agricultural purposes. While modern China primarily uses the Gregorian calendar for officia ...
zodiacal animal year-name for both Thai Hora (, ho-ra-sat) and
Chinese astrology Chinese astrology is based on traditional Chinese astronomy and the Chinese calendar. Chinese astrology flourished during the Han dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theor ...
. Thai birth certificates record the date, month and time of birth, followed by the day of the week, lunar date, and the applicable zodiac animal name. Thai traditionally reckon age by the 12-year animal-cycle names, with the twelfth and sixtieth
anniversaries An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the List of national independence days, date of independen ...
being of special significance; but the official calendar determines age at law. For instance, 12 August 2004 was observed without regard to the lunar date as Queen
Sirikit Sirikit (born ''Mom Rajawongse'' Sirikit Kitiyakara; 12 August 1932) is a member of the Thai royal family who was List of Thai royal consorts#Rattanakosin Kingdom, Queen of Thailand from 28 April 1950 to 13 October 2016 as the wife of King Bhum ...
's birthday, a public holiday also observed as Thai
Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...
. Her zodiacal animal is the
Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...
and her traditionally significant sixtieth anniversary year was 1992. Born on a Friday, her auspicious birthday colour is blue. Thai auspicious colours of the day are given in the table of weekdays, followed below it by a link to the Buddha images for each day of the week.


Weeks

A week (, ''sapda'' or सप्ताह, , ''sapdaha'' from
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
"seven") is a 7-day period beginning on Sunday and ending Saturday.
Days of the week A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, and night. This daily cycle drive ...
are named after the first seven of the nine Indian astrological
Navagraha The navagraha are nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth according to Hinduism and Hindu mythology. The term is derived from ''nava'' ( "nine") and ''graha'' ( "planet, seizing, laying hold of, holding"). The nine part ...
; i.e., the sun, moon, and five
classical planet A classical planet is an astronomical object that is visible to the naked eye and moves across the sky and its backdrop of fixed stars (the common stars which seem still in contrast to the planets), appearing as wandering stars. Visible to huma ...
s. Note: Colours are those considered
auspicious Auspicious is a word derived from Latin originally pertaining to the taking of 'Augury, auspices' by an augur of ancient Rome. It may refer to: * Luck, the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable positive or negative events ...
for the given days of the week, that of Wednesday day being green and of Wednesday night, light green. Of Buddha images representing episodes () from his life, there is one that represents a week and others for each day of the week: Monday has three options that are similar and Wednesday, entirely different ones for day and night. Thai representations of the planets in deity form are below: File:Phra Athit.gif, Phra Athit File:Phra Chan.gif, Phra Chan File:Phra Angkhan.gif, Phra Angkhan File:Phra Phut.gif, Phra Phut File:Phra Rahu.gif, Phra Rahu File:Phra Phareuehat.gif, Phra Phruehat File:Phra Suk.gif, Phra Suk File:Phra Sao.gif, Phra Sao


Weekends and holidays

Saturdays and Sundays ( ''sao athit'') are observed as legal non-workdays (, ''wan yut ratchakan'') and are generally shown on calendars in red, as are public holidays. Since 1996 and subject to declaration by the
Cabinet of Thailand The cabinet of Thailand (formally, the Council of Ministers of Thailand; ; is a body composed of thirty-five of the most senior members of the government of the Kingdom of Thailand. The Cabinet (government), cabinet is the primary organ of the ...
, public holidays that fall on weekends are followed by substitution days (, ''wan yut chotchoei'') generally shown in a lighter shade of red, as shown above for Monday, 2 August 2004. Buddhist feasts that are public holidays are calculated according to the Thai lunar calendar, so their dates change every year with respect to the solar calendar.
Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year based on lunar calendars or, informally, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendar years begin with a new moon and have a fixed number of lunar months, usually twelve, in contrast to lunisolar calendar ye ...
and other feasts observed by
Thai Chinese Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais) are persons of Chinese people, Chinese descent in Thailand. Thai Chinese are the largest mixed group in the country and the largest overseas Chinese community in the world with a popul ...
vary with respect to both, as these are calculated according to the
Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar, dating back to the Han dynasty, is a lunisolar calendar that blends solar, lunar, and other cycles for social and agricultural purposes. While modern China primarily uses the Gregorian calendar for officia ...
.


See also

* Date and time notation in Thailand *
Thai solar calendar The Thai solar calendar (, , "solar calendar") was adopted by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in 1888 Common Era, CE as the Siamese version of the Gregorian calendar, replacing the Thai lunar calendar as the legal Thai calendar (though the latter i ...


References

{{Calendars
Calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...
Calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...
Calendars