Happy New Year 2558 !
Thailandee.com wish you a happy new year ! A big thank you for having visited our website and followed our Facebook page in 2014 !
“Why, Happy newyear in 2558?”, will probably some of you ask. The others already know the ans.
No, you have not slept the longest night of your life and woke up 543 years later. No, you have not traveled in time. If Thailand uses a lot the Western calendar that starts (although there is a controversy about it) the year of Christ’s birth and in which this morning is the first morning of 2015, Thai calendar is a Buddhist calendar in which today we are in 2558.
The Buddhist calendar starts with the parinivarna of lord Buddha which took place 543 years before the (supposed) birth of Jesus Christ. Basically, the Buddhist calendar does not start in January but since 1941 (2484 in the Buddhist calendar), the Thai year also begins on January 1, although the Thai New Year called Songkran, it is still celebrated in April.
So in Thailand you have the opportunity to celebrate the new year 2 times and even 3 times if you also want to celbrate the Chinese New Year.
