The Buddhist Era
Thailand officially uses the Buddhist Era (BE, พุทธศักราช), which counts years from the death (or in some traditions, the enlightenment) of the Buddha. 2025 CE = 2568 BE. The Buddhist Era is 543 years ahead of the Common Era, making it easy to convert: CE + 543 = BE.
While the Gregorian calendar is used in international contexts, BE dates appear on all official Thai documents, banknotes, and news broadcasts.
The Thai Solar Calendar
Modern Thailand uses a solar calendar structure identical to the Gregorian calendar (same month lengths, same leap year rules), but with the Buddhist Era year count. This was standardized in 1941 when Thailand also changed the New Year's Day from April 1 to January 1.
The Traditional Thai Lunisolar Calendar
Alongside the official solar calendar, a traditional lunisolar calendar still governs religious observances:
- Songkran (สงกรานต์): Thai New Year, April 13–15 — originally calculated by the lunisolar calendar, now fixed by solar position. The water festival symbolizes washing away the old year.
- Visakha Bucha (วิสาขบูชา): Full moon of the 6th lunar month — celebrates the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha.
- Asalha Bucha (อาสาฬหบูชา): Full moon of the 8th lunar month — commemorates the first sermon of the Buddha.
- Khao Phansa (เข้าพรรษา): Beginning of Buddhist Lent, the day after Asalha Bucha — monks remain in their temples for 3 months.
- Loy Krathong (ลอยกระทง): Full moon of the 12th lunar month — floating lanterns and offerings on waterways.
Wan Phra — Lunar Holy Days
Wan Phra (วันพระ) are lunar holy days occurring 4 times per month (on the 8th and 15th days of both the waxing and waning moon). On these days, devout Buddhists visit temples, offer food to monks, and observe precepts. Many businesses still display lunar calendars to track Wan Phra days.
Other Buddhist Era Countries
The Buddhist Era is also used in Myanmar (BE + 638 to get the Burmese Era), Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. Each country uses a slightly different calculation, but all share the concept of counting from the Buddha's passing into Nirvana.