In Thailand the New Year happens three times per year

What if I told you that I live in an area where the year is 2553? No, I am not schizophrenic, I did not watch too many science fiction movies, and I do not live on another planet. But I do live in Thailand, and the year is 2553 for the simple reason that they use the Buddhist calendar rather than the Christian one.

Our western calendar begins at the birth of Jesus, 2010 years ago. The Buddhist calendar starts with the birth of Buddha, 2553 years ago. Most dates in Thailand are written with the Buddhist year which tends to be very confusing for westerners. The secret is to subtract 543 years and you are right back to 2010.

The Buddhist New Year is celebrated in mid-April which is the hottest time of the year. This New Year’s celebration is mostly a water throwing event where everyone comes out and soaks whoever is in range with lots of water. The length of the event differs regionally from one day to the extreme of seven days in Chiang Mai.

Although the Buddhist New Year is celebrated in April, the official starting date of the year is January 1 of the Christian calendar. When you see a date written in Thailand, it is generally a combination of two calendars: the day and the month are based on the Christian calendar and the year is taken from the Buddhist calendar.

The original Buddhist calendar is very complex and is not so much used for time keeping as for determining dates of festivals, religious events and favorable or unfavorable days for weddings, business ventures or ceremonies. All the calendar days have special meanings and determine if a specific day is favorable for certain occasions like marriages, burials or other important ceremonies and decisions. So this calendar is more than a way to keep track of time. The younger Thais nowadays don’t understand how to calculate and use the Buddhist calendar anymore. It is usually the older people and scholarly monks who are still familiar with it.

Thailand actually has a third New Year which is based on the Chinese tradition and is celebrated by six million Thai-Chinese. They have their own calendar again and their own colorful and noisy New Year’s celebration in late January or early February. You can always tell a Chinese celebration by what I call “machine gun firecrackers”. These are small firecrackers strung up one after another, and they explode in rapid-fire fashion. Another typical and characteristic Chinese event is the lion dance, a sometimes highly acrobatic dance performance by two men in a lion’s costume.

The Thais certainly understand that most international business is based on the Gregorian Christian calendar. They are familiar with both systems, and January 1 is a public holiday here as well and is celebrated just like in the west with countdown and big fireworks.

In Thailand any excuse is good enough for a party, and the Thais have an impressive collection of them: Flower festivals, food festivals, New Year (all three of them), Buddha days, temple festivals, the king’s birthday and quite a few more. Some festivals last several days and include huge parades, lavish festivities with spectacular floats, colorful parades, performances of singing, dancing, and of course feasting. Festival dates change every year since most of them are calculated with the Buddhist calendar.

Now it is 2010 in Thailand and it is also 2553. And yes, we have three New Year’s celebrations every year, and if you are confused about what date it is on which calendar, don’t worry about it and just join the party! The Thais have a saying that expresses the Thai view of life: “maipenrai” – meaning “don’t worry”, “it doesn’t matter”,  “no big deal”, “it’s okay”, “forget about it”, “let it go”. This is a useful word to know when you visit Thailand since it reflects the Thai attitude about life beautifully.

Here are some possible applications: “January 1 New Year is not really part of our tradition, but maipenrai, it’s a great opportunity to have a fantastic party, so let’s celebrate it”. Or: “Christmas has nothing to do with Buddhism, but maipenrai, it’s another reason to have a party, so let’s celebrate it anyway”.

Thais would never think that non-Buddhist festivals like Christmas have no place in their country or might even conflict with Buddhist principles. Now can you imagine the USA or any western country putting on a national festival for a Buddhist holiday just for the fun of it? Not likely! But the Thais are highly tolerant, fun loving and non judgmental when it comes to other religions. Thais are fun loving people, and there is always one festival or another happening wherever you are. This is one of many attractive aspects of living in this beautiful country.

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