This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (May 2012)

The Thai solar calendar, Suriyakhati (Thai: สุริยคติ) was adopted by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in AD 1888 as the Siamese version of the Gregorian calendar. It is the legal calendar in Thailand, though Thai lunar calendar dates continue in use. Years are now counted in the Buddhist Era (BE: พ.ศ. พุทธศักราช póota sàk-gà-râat) that is 543 years greater than the Christian Era ( ค.ศ. คริสต์ศักราช krít sàk-gà-râat). As a convenience, calendars typically include the year AD in both Arabic and Chinese numerals.

August ๒๕๔๗ Thai numerals = 2547 BE, AD 2004 Chinese 二〇〇四年

August 2547 BE/AD 2004

Calendar[link]

• Red numerals mark Sundays and public holidays in Thailand.
• Buddha images mark Buddhist Sabbaths, Wan Phra (วันพระ.)
• Red tablets with white Chinese characters mark the New and Full Moons of the Chinese calendar, which typically differ by one day from those of the Thai.
• Scrawled blue figures mark dates of national lottery drawings and it's made for predict number for last 3 digit and 2 digit prize (for example, 078 on the 15th, 538 on the 19th and 2576 on 31 August 2004.)
• Thai lunar calendar dates appear below the solar calendar date.

Birthdays[link]

Mundane astrology figures prominently in Thai culture, so modern Thai birth certificates include lunar calendar dates, and the appropriate Chinese calendar zodiacal animal year-name for both Thai Hora (โหราศาสตร์ โหราสาต ho-ra-sat) and Chinese astrology. Thai birth certificates record the date, month, year 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 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's birthday, a public holiday also observed as Thai Mothers' Day. Her zodiacal animal is the monkey 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.

Years[link]

Rattanakosin Era[link]

The Rattanakosin Era (RE) (รัตนโกสินทรศก Rattanakosin Sok) Year 1 began 6 April 1782, with the accession of Rama I, the foundation of the Chakri Dynasty and the founding of Bangkok (Rattanakosin) as capital. King Chulalongkorn decreed this as the epoch (reference date) for the counting of years in 106 RE, AD 1888.

Buddhist Era[link]

In Thailand the Buddhist Era is reckoned to have an epochal year 0 from 11 March 545 BC, believed to be the date of the death of Gautama Buddha. King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) changed year counting to this Buddhist Era (BE) and moved the start of the year back to 1 April in 2455 BE, AD 1912.

New year[link]

On 6 September 1940, Prime Minister Phibunsongkhram decreed^[1] 1 January 1941 as the start of the year 2484 BE, so year 2483 BE had only nine months. To convert dates from 1 January to 31 March prior to that year, the number to add or subtract is 542; otherwise, it is 543. Example:

Today, both the Common Era New Year's Day (1 January) and the traditional Thai New Year (สงกรานต์ Songkran) celebrations (13–15 April) are public holidays in Thailand.

In the traditional Thai calendar, the change to the next Chinese zodiacal animal occurs at Songkhran (13 April).^[2] For Thai Chinese communities in Thailand, however, the Chinese calendar determines the day that a Chinese New Year begins, and assumes the name of the next animal in the twelve-year animal cycle.

Weekends and holidays[link]

Saturdays and Sundays (Thai: เสาร์-อาทิตย์ sow-athit) are observed as legal non-workdays (วันหยุดราชการ wan yut rachagan) and are generally shown on calendars in red, as are public holidays. Since 1996 and subject to declaration by the Cabinet of Thailand, public holidays that fall on weekends are followed by Substitution days (วันชดเชย wan chot choie) 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. Chinese New Year and other feasts observed by Thai Chinese vary with respect to both, as these are calculated according to the Chinese calendar.

Months[link]

Names of the months derive from Hindu astrology names for the signs of the zodiac. Thirty-day-month names end in -ayon (-ายน), from Sanskrit root āyana : the arrival of; 31-day-month names end in -akhom (-าคม), from Sanskrit āgama (cognate to English "come") that also means the arrival of.

February's name ends in -phan (-พันธ์), from Sanskrit bandha : "fettered" or "bound". The day added to February in a solar leap year is Athikasuratin (อธิกสุรทิน, respelled to aid pronunciation (อะทิกะสุระทิน) from Sanskrit adhika : additional; sura : move).^[3]

Weeks[link]

A week (สัปดาห์ sàb-da or สัปดาหะ sàb-da-hà from Sanskrit "seven") is a 7-day period beginning on Sunday and ending Saturday.^[4]

Days of the week are named after the Sun and Moon, and Sanskrit names of the five classical planets.

Note: Colours are those considered auspicious for the given days of the week, that of Wednesday day being green and of Wednesday night, light green. Of Buddha images representing episodes (ปาง) 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.^[5]

Thai representations of the planets in deity form are below:

• 

  Phra Athit

• 

  Phra Chan

• 

  Phra Angkhan

• 

  Phra Phut

• 

  Phra Rahu

• 

  Phra Phareuehat

• 

  Phra Suk

• 

  Phra Sao

Notes[link]

See also[link]

Thailand portal

• Buddhist calendar
• Public holidays in Thailand
• Thai 6-hour clock
• Thai lunar calendar
• Time in Thailand

References[link]

• Eade, John Christopher. 1995. The Calendrical Systems of Mainland South-East Asia. Handbuch der Orientalistik: Dritte Abteilung, Südostasien 9. Leiden and New York: E. J. Brill. ISBN 90-04-10437-2
• na Nakorn, Bleung (comp.). [1971]. นายเปลื้อง ณ นคร ผู้รวบรวม ปทานุกรมนักเรียน ไทยวัฒนาพานิช กทม. Student's Handbook. Bangkok: Thai Wattana Panit, 2514.
• Sethaputra, So. 1999. New Model English - Thai Dictionary. [Krung Thep Maha Nakhon?: Thai Watthana Phanit?]. ISBN 974-08-3253-9
• Thai calendar for August 2004.
• Web dictionary Thai-English English-Thai

External links[link]

• Thai Time by Anthony Diller
• Thai Buddha Images for the Days of the Week
• Thai Lunar/Solar Calendar (BE.2300-2584) (Thai Language)

A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the position of the earth on its revolution around the sun (or equivalently the apparent position of the sun moving on the celestial sphere).

Tropical solar calendars[link]

If the position of the earth in its orbit around the sun is reckoned with respect to the equinox, the point at which the orbit crosses the celestial equator, then its dates accurately indicate the seasons, that is, they are synchronized with the declination of the sun. Such a calendar is called a tropical solar calendar.

The duration of the mean calendar year of such a calendar approximates some form of the tropical year, usually either the mean tropical year or the vernal equinox year.

The following are tropical solar calendars:

• Gregorian calendar
• Julian calendar
• Bahá'í calendar
• Coptic calendar
• Iranian calendar (Jalāli Calendar)

Every one of these calendars has a year of 365 days, which is occasionally extended by adding an extra day to form a leap year, a method called "intercalation", the inserted day being "intercalary".

The Zoroastrian calendar is a religious calendar used by adherents of the Zoroastrian faith, and is an approximation of the tropical solar calendar.

Sidereal solar calendars[link]

If the position of the earth (see above) is reckoned with respect to the fixed stars, then the dates indicate the zodiacal constellation near which the sun can be found. Such a calendar is called a sidereal solar calendar.

The mean calendar year of such a calendar approximates the sidereal year.

Indian calendars like the Hindu calendar, Bengali calendar, Malayalam calendar and Tamil calendar are sidereal solar calendars. The Thai solar calendar, based on the Hindu solar calendar is also a sidereal calendar. They are calculated on the basis of the apparent motion of the sun through the twelve zodiacs rather than the true tropical movement of the earth.

Non-solar calendars[link]

Calendars that are not solar calendars include the Islamic calendar, which is a purely lunar calendar and calendars synchronized to the synodic period of Venus or to the heliacal risings of stars.

Lunisolar calendars[link]

Lunisolar calendars may be regarded as solar calendars, although their dates additionally indicate the moon phase. Because a typical lunisolar calendar has a year made up of a whole number of lunar months, it can't indicate the position of Earth on its revolution around the sun as well as a pure solar calendar can.

See also[link]

• Analemma calendar

External links[link]

• Correspondence between Hebrew and Islamic calendars, months and holidays (pdf)

v t e Chronology Main articles Time · Astronomy · Geology · Paleontology · Archaeology · History Eras and epochs Calendar eras Human Era · Ab urbe condita · Anno Domini (Common Era) · Anno Mundi · Byzantine era · Spanish era · Before Present · Hijri · Egyptian · Sothic cycle · Hindu units of measurement · Hindu Yugas Regnal year Canon of Kings · Lists of kings · Limmu · Seleucid era Era names Chinese · Japanese · Korean · Vietnamese Calendars (Pre-)Julian Pre-Julian Roman · Original Julian · Proleptic Julian · Revised Julian Gregorian Gregorian · Proleptic Gregorian · Old Style and New Style dates Astronomical Lunisolar · Solar · Lunar · Astronomical year numbering Others Iranian · Islamic · Chinese sexagenary cycle · ISO week date Astronomic time   Chronology Portal Cosmic Calendar · Ephemeris · Galactic year · Metonic cycle · Milankovitch cycles Geologic time Concepts Deep time · Geological history of Earth · Geological time units Standards Global Standard Stratigraphic Age (GSSA) · Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) Methods Chronostratigraphy · Geochronology · Isotope geochemistry · Law of superposition · Optical dating · Samarium-neodymium dating Archaeological methods Absolute dating Incremental dating · Archaeomagnetic dating · Dendrochronology · Glottochronology · Ice core · Lichenometry · Paleomagnetism · Radiocarbon dating · Radiometric dating · Tephrochronology · Thermoluminescence dating · Uranium-lead dating Relative dating Seriation · Stratification · Fluorine absorption dating Genetic methods Amino acid dating · Molecular clock Related topics Chronicle · New Chronology · Periodization · Synchronoptic view · Timeline · Year zero · Circa · Floruit · ASPRO chronology