Tongue Thai’d Translations

Sawatdee Pii Mai!  สวัสดีปีใหม่! As in much of the world, Thais celebrate New Year on January 1st, and indeed, in Thailand New Year is a major occasion for gift-giving. But that, as with many things in Thailand, is only half the story. If you have ever visited Thailand during April, you will have realised that Thailand also has a second ‘new year’ celebration occuring in April. This, of course, is Songkran, or the famous ‘water festival’, when Thais and foreigners alike delight in dousing each other with large quantities of water.  Songkran, the date of which once depended on astrological calculations, but is now fixed for April 13-15th, marks the new year in the traditional Thai lunar calendar, while January 1st marks the new year in the solar calendar, adopted by King Chulalongkorn in 1888 as the Thai equivalent to the western Gregorian calendar. While day-to-day life is now conducted in accordance with this latter calendar, the former still prevails for religious festivals.  More on this in later posts.

Moreover,  Thais didn’t celebrate the beginning of 2010 this year, but the beginning of 2553. This is because Thais calculate their dates according to the Buddhist Era (พุทธศักราช  – commonly abbreviated in English to BE) rather than the Christian Era (AD or CE). The Buddhist Era, which was adopted as Thailand’s official dating system in 1911, starts from the day on which the Buddha passed to Nirvana.  The general rule of thumb when determining dates in the Buddhist Era is to add 543 to the CE date.  Naturally this system was in common use in Thailand prior to 1911, but it was also used in conjunction with several other calendrical systems, and indeed, did not become the sole dating system to be used until 1932.  Other systems have historically included Chunlasakkarat (minor era), which was often used in manuscripts and Mahasakkarat (major era).  Another dating system, the Rattanakosin Era, is also found on manuscripts and books during the first five reigns of the Chakri dynasty (1782-1910).

The Thai calendar and Thai time are fascinating topics, of which more in later posts. But for now, a rather belated Sawatdee Pii Mai!

Note: Apologies for the hiatus in posts – I have been on maternity leave for the past 9 months. My little boy (the youngest of my four children) is now 8 months old, and I will endeavour to update this website when the children let me.