Buddhist calendar

Last updated
Translations of
Buddhist calendar
English Calendar of the Lord Buddha
Sanskrit बौद्धपञ्चाङ्ग
Pali Sāsanā Sakaraj
Bengali বৌদ্ধ বর্ষপঞ্জি
(Baud'dha Borshoponjī)
Burmese သာသနာ သက္ကရာဇ်
(MLCTS: θàðənà θɛʔkəɹɪʔ)
Chinese 佛历 / 佛曆
(Pinyin: Fó lì)
Japanese 仏滅紀元
(Rōmaji: Butsumetsu kigen)
Khmer ពុទ្ធសករាជ
(UNGEGN: pŭtthôsâkâréach; ALA-LC: buddhasakarāj)
Korean 불멸기원
佛滅紀元

(RR: bulmyeolgiwon)
Lao ປະຕິທິນພຸດທະສາສະໜາ
(patithin phudthasasana)
Malay Kalender Buddhis (Indonesian)
Takwim Buddha (Malaysian)
Sinhala බුද්ධ වර්‍ෂ / සාසන වර්‍ෂ
(Buddha Varsha / Sāsana Varsha)
Tamil புத்த நாட்காட்டி
(Putta nāṭkāṭṭi)
Tagalog Kalendaryong buddhist
(Baybayin: ᜃᜎᜒ︀ᜈ᜴ᜇᜍ᜴ᜌᜓ︀ᜅ᜴ ᜊᜓᜇ᜴ᜇ᜴ᜑᜒᜐ᜴ᜆ᜴)
Thai พุทธศักราช
(RTGS: phutthasakkarat)
Vietnamese Phật lịch
Glossary of Buddhism

The Buddhist calendar is a set of lunisolar calendars primarily used in Tibet, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam as well as in Malaysia and Singapore and by Chinese populations for religious or official occasions. While the calendars share a common lineage, they also have minor but important variations such as intercalation schedules, month names and numbering, use of cycles, etc. In Thailand, the name Buddhist Era is a year numbering system shared by the traditional Thai lunar calendar and by the Thai solar calendar.

Contents

The Southeast Asian lunisolar calendars are largely based on an older version of the Hindu calendar, [1] which uses the sidereal year as the solar year. One major difference is that the Southeast Asian systems, unlike their Indian cousins, do not use apparent reckoning to stay in sync with the sidereal year. Instead, they employ their versions of the Metonic cycle. However, since the Metonic cycle is not very accurate for sidereal years, the Southeast Asian calendar is slowly drifting out of sync with the sidereal, approximately one day every 100 years. Yet no coordinated structural reforms of the lunisolar calendar have been undertaken.

Today, the traditional Buddhist lunisolar calendar is used mainly for Theravada Buddhist festivals. The Thai Buddhist Era, a renumbered Gregorian calendar, is the official calendar in Thailand.

Structure

Thailand's version of the lunisolar Buddhist calendar August2004rs.png
Thailand's version of the lunisolar Buddhist calendar

The calculation methodology of the current versions of Southeast Asian Buddhist calendars is largely based on that of the Burmese calendar, which was in use in various Southeast Asian kingdoms down to the 19th century under the names of Chula Sakarat and Jolak Sakaraj. The Burmese calendar in turn was based on the "original" Surya Siddhanta system of ancient India (believed to be Ardharatrika school). [1] One key difference with Indian systems is that the Burmese system has followed a variation of the Metonic cycle. It is unclear from where, when or how the Metonic system was introduced; hypotheses range from China to Europe. [note 1] The Burmese system, and indeed the Southeast Asian systems, thus use a "strange" combination of sidereal years from the Indian calendar in combination with the Metonic cycle better for tropical years. [2]

Epochal date

In all Theravada traditions, the calendar's epochal year 0 date was the day in which the Buddha attained parinibbāna . However, not all traditions agree on when it actually took place. In Burmese Buddhist tradition, it was 13 May 544 BCE (Tuesday, Full moon of Kason 148 Anjanasakaraj). [3] But in Thailand, it was 11 March 545 BCE, the date which the current Thai lunisolar and solar calendars use as the epochal date. Yet, the Thai calendars for some reason have fixed the difference between their Buddhist Era (BE) numbering and the Christian/Common Era (CE) numbering at 543, [4] which points to an epochal year of 544 BCE, not 545 BCE. In Myanmar, the difference between BE and CE can be 543 or 544 for CE dates, and 544 or 543 for BCE dates, depending on the month of the Buddhist Era (as the Buddhist calendar straddles the Gregorian calendar—currently[ when? ] from April to April).

BE yearEquivalent
CE years
Equivalent CE
year
(Thai solar)
0544–543 BCE
1543–542 BCE
5431 BCE – 1 CE0–1 CE
5441–2 CE1–2 CE
24841940–19411940 (Apr–Dec)
24851941–19421941
25662022–20232022

Month

Types

The calendar recognizes two types of months: synodic month and sidereal month. [5] The Synodic months are used to compose the years while the 27 lunar sidereal days (Sanskrit: nakshatra ), alongside the 12 signs of the zodiac, are used for astrological calculations. [6] (The Burmese calendar also recognizes a solar month called Thuriya Matha, which is defined as 1/12th of a year. [7] But the solar month varies by the type of year such as tropical year, sidereal year, etc.)

Waxing and waning

The days of the month are counted in two halves, waxing and waning. The 15th of the waxing is the civil full moon day. The civil new moon day is the last day of the month (14th or 15th waning). Because of the inaccuracy of the calendrical calculation systems, the mean and real (true) New Moons rarely coincide. The mean New Moon often precedes the real New Moon. [5] [6]

TypeDaysDescription
Waxing1 to 15from New Moon to Full Moon
Full Moon15Full Moon
Waning1 to 14 or 15from Full Moon to New Moon
New Moon15New Moon

Number of days per month

As the Synodic lunar month is approximately 29.5 days, the calendar uses alternating months of 29 and 30 days. [5]

PaliSanskritBurmeseKhmerLaoSinhalaThai [8] No. of
days
Gregorian
(approx.)
Citta Caitra Tagu (တန်ခူး)Chêtr (ចេត្រ)ຈິຕBak (බක්)Chittra (จิตร)29March–April
Vesākha Vaiśākha Kason (ကဆုန်)Pĭsakh (ពិសាខ)ວິສາຂະVesak (වෙසක්)Wisakha (วิสาข)30April–May
Jeṭṭha Jyaiṣṭha Nayon (နယုန်)Chésth (ជេស្ឋ)ເຊດPoson (පොසොන්)Chettha (เชษฐ)29 [30]May–June
Āsāḷha Āṣāḍha Waso (ဝါဆို)Asath (អាសាឍ)ອາສາລະຫະÆsala (ඇසළ)Asanha (อาสาฬห)30June–July
Sāvaṇa Śrāvaṇa Wagaung (ဝါခေါင်)Srapôn (ស្រាពណ៍)ສາວະນະNikini (නිකිණි)Sawana (สาวน)29July–August
Poṭṭhapāda Bhādrapada or Proṣṭhapāda Tawthalin (တော်သလင်း)Phôtrôbât (ភទ្របទ)ພັດທະຣະບົດBinara (බිනර)Phatthrabot (ภัทรบท)30August–September
Assayuja Āśvina Thadingyut (သီတင်းကျွတ်)Âssŏch (អស្សុជ)ອັດສະວະຍຸດWap (වප්)Atsawayut (อัศวยุช)29September–October
Kattika Kārtika Tazaungmon (တန်ဆောင်မုန်း)Kâtdĕk (កត្តិក)ກັດຕິກາIl (ඉල්)Kattika (กัตติกา)30October–November
Māgasira Mārgaśirṣa Nadaw (နတ်တော်)Mĭkôsĕr (មិគសិរ)ມິຄະສິນUndhuvap (උඳුවප්)Mikkhasira (มิคสิร)29November–December
Phussa Pauṣa Pyatho (ပြာသို)Bŏss (បុស្ស)ປຸສສDhuruthu (දුරුතු)Putsa (ปุสส)30December–January
Māgha Māgha Tabodwe (တပို့တွဲ)Méakh (មាឃ)ມາດNavam (නවම්)Makha (มาฆ)29January–February
Phagguṇa Phālguna Tabaung (တပေါင်း)Phâlkŭn (ផល្គុន)ຜັກຄຸນMædhin (මැදින්)Phakkhun (ผัคคุณ)30February–March

Month numbering

Various regional versions of Chula Sakarat/Burmese calendar existed across various regions of mainland Southeast Asia. Unlike Burmese systems, Kengtung, Sipsongpanna, Lan Na, Lan Xang and Sukhothai systems refer to the months by numbers, not by names. This means reading ancient texts and inscriptions in Thailand requires constant vigilance, not just in making sure one is correctly operating for the correct region, but also for variations within regions itself when incursions cause a variation in practice. [9] [10]

MonthKhmer, Lan Xang, Sukhothai and Old BurmeseKengtung, SipsongpannaChiang Mai
Citta567
Vesākha678
Jeṭṭha789
Āsāḷha8910
Sāvaṇa91011
Poṭṭhapāda101112
Assayuja11121
Kattika1212
Māgasira123
Phussa234
Māgha345
Phagguṇa456

Year

The Buddhist calendar is a lunisolar calendar in which the months are based on lunar months and years are based on solar years. One of its primary objectives is to synchronize the lunar part with the solar part. The lunar months, normally twelve of them, consist alternately of 29 days and 30 days, such that a normal lunar year will contain 354 days, as opposed to the solar year of ~365.25 days. Therefore, some form of addition to the lunar year (of intercalation) is necessary. The overall basis for it is provided by cycles of 57 years. Eleven extra days are inserted in every 57 years, and seven extra months of 30 days are inserted in every 19 years (21 months in 57 years). This provides 20819 complete days to both calendars. [11] This 57-year cycle would provide a mean year of about 365.2456 days and a mean month of about 29.530496 days, if not corrected.

As such, the calendar adds an intercalary month in leap years and sometimes also an intercalary day in great leap years. The intercalary month not only corrects the length of the year but also corrects the accumulating error of the month to extent of half a day. The average length of the month is further corrected by adding a day to Nayon at irregular intervals—a little more than seven times in two cycles (39 years). The intercalary day is never inserted except in a year which has an intercalary month. [6] The Hindu calendar inserts an intercalary month at any time of year as soon as the accumulated fractions amount to one month. The Burmese calendar however always inserts the intercalary month at the same time of the year, after the summer solstice while the Arakanese calendar inserts it after the vernal equinox. [12]

Burmese

The Burmese calendar year consists of 354, 384 or 385 days.

MonthRegular yearSmall leap yearBig leap year
Tagu292929
Kason303030
Nayon292930
Waso303030
2nd Wason/a3030
Wagaung292929
Tawthalin303030
Thadingyut292929
Tazaungmon303030
Nadaw292929
Pyatho303030
Tabodwe292929
Tabaung303030
Total354384385

Note: The Arakanese calendar adds the intercalary day in Tagu, not in Nayon.

Cambodian, Lao and Thai

The Cambodian, Lao and Thai lunisolar calendars use a slightly different method to place the intercalary day. Instead of it in a leap year as in the Burmese system, the Thai system places it in a separate year. Thus, the Thai small leap year has 355 days while the Thai great leap year has 384 days. [9]

MonthRegular yearSmall leap yearBig leap year
Citta292929
Vesākha303030
Jeṭṭha293029
Āsāḷha303030
2nd Āsāḷhan/an/a30
Sāvaṇa292929
Poṭṭhapāda303030
Assayuja292929
Kattika303030
Māgasira292929
Phussa303030
Māgha292929
Phagguṇa303030
Total354355384

New Year's Day

Since the main purpose of Buddhist calendar is to keep pace with the solar year, the new year is always marked by the solar year, which falls at the time when the Sun enters Aries. [5] The date, which at the present falls on the 17th of April, has slowly drifted over the centuries. In the 20th century, the New Year's Day fell on April 15 or 16th but in the 17th century, it fell on April 9 or 10th. [13] Thailand and Cambodia no longer use the traditional lunisolar calendar to mark the New Year's Day.

TraditionDate in 2013Notes
Burmese/Sinhalese17 AprilVaries; will keep on drifting away
Khmer14 AprilVaries from 13th to 14 April
Thai13 AprilFixed to the solar calendar

Cycle

The Cambodian, Lao and Thai systems give animal names to the years from a cycle of 12. [14] The practice also existed in Burma in the Pagan period but later died out. [15]

YearAnimal Khmer Lao Thai
1 Rat ជូត (Choot)ຊວດ (Suat)ชวด (Chuat)
2 Ox ឆ្លូវ (Chhlov)ສະຫລູ (Salu)ฉลู (Chalu)
3 Tiger ខាល (Khal)ຂານ (Khan)ขาล (Khan)
4 Rabbit ថោះ (Thoh)ເຖາະ (Tho)เถาะ (Tho)
5 Naga រោង (Rorng)ມະໂລງ (Malong)มะโรง (Marong)
6 Snake ម្សាញ់ (Msanh)ມະເສງ (Maseng)มะเส็ง (Maseng)
7 Horse មមី (Momee)ມະເມັຽ (Mameh)มะเมีย (Mamia)
8 Goat មមែ (Momae)ມະແມ (Mamae)มะแม (Mamae)
9 Monkey វក (Vork)ວອກ (Wok)วอก (Wok)
10 Rooster រកា (Roka)ລະກາ (Laka)ระกา (Raka)
11 Dog ច (Char)ຈໍ (Cho)จอ (Cho)
12 Pig កុរ (Kol)ກຸນ (Kun)กุน (Kun)

The Cambodian calendar also maintains a 10-year naming cycle (numbered one to ten). Cambodians use multiple systems to identify a given year. For instance, 2017 is identified as 2561 Buddhist Era, the year of Rooster, Nuppasak (Year 9). [16] The Thai lunar calendar also uses a similar numbered 10-year cycle. Each number in the cycle corresponds to the last digit of the year in the Chula Sakarat calendar.[ citation needed ]

NumbersNames in Khmer Khmer transliterationNames in Thai Thai transliteration
1ឯកស័កAekkasakเอกศกEkkasok
2ទោស័កTorsakโทศกThosok
3ត្រីស័កTreisakตรีศกTrisok
4ចត្វាស័កChattvasakจัตวาศกChattawasok
5បញ្ចស័កPanchasakเบญจศกBenchasok
6ឆស័កChhorsakฉศกChorsok
7សប្តស័កSappdasakสัปตศกSaptasok
8អដ្ឋស័កAtthasakอัฐศกAtthasok
9នព្វស័កNuppasakนพศกNopphasok
10សំរឹទ្ធិស័កSamretthisakสัมฤทธิศกSamritthisok

Accuracy

The Southeast Asian Buddhist calendars use lunar months but try to keep pace with the solar year, by inserting intercalary months and days on the Metonic cycle (in the case of the Burmese calendar, on a modified Metonic cycle). However, the solar year as defined by the Buddhist calendars is really a sidereal year, which is nearly 24 minutes longer than the actual mean tropical year. Therefore, like all sidereal-based calendars, the lunisolar calendars are slowly drifting away from the seasons. [17] The calendars are drifting one day approximately every 60 years and 4 months.

The accumulating drift against the seasons means the New Year's Day which used to fall on 22 March (near the vernal equinox) in 638 CE now falls on 17 April in 2013 CE. There is no known internationally concerted effort to stop this drift. Thailand has moved its "Buddhist Era" to the Gregorian calendar under the name of Thai solar calendar. In Myanmar, Burmese calendarists have tried to deal with the issue by periodically modifying the intercalation schedule in the Metonic cycle. One major downside of this approach is that it is not possible to publish future calendars more than a few years (often even a year) ahead. [note 2]

History

The Buddhist Era was first introduced to Southeast Asia along with Buddhism in the early centuries CE. It was not a separate calendar but simply a year numbering system that employed the organization and calculation methods of the prevailing lunisolar calendars in use throughout the region. In the early centuries CE, the reference civil calendar of the Buddhist calendar prevalent in Southeast Asia was the Saka Era (Mahāsakaraj Era), which is said to have been adopted by the Pyu state of Sri Ksetra in 80 CE. The Saka Era was gradually replaced by the Burmese Era or Culāsakaraj, first in Myanmar in 640 CE, [18] and in other Theravada kingdoms of Southeast Asia between the 13th and 16th centuries. [note 3] Theravada Buddhist tradition also recognizes pre-Buddhist Anjana Sakaraj (Añjana's Era) since the events of the Buddha's life are recorded in that era. [3]

NameEpochal dateNotes
Anjana Sakaraj10 March 691 BCESaid to have been started by the Buddha's maternal grandfather King Añjana
Used to date the events during the Buddha's lifetime
Buddhist Era13 May 544 BCE
11 March 545 BCE
544 BCE in Myanmar; 545 BCE in Thailand
Śaka Era 17 March 78 CECivil calendar
Burmese Era (Culāsakaraj)22 March 638Civil calendar

The tradition of using different reference calendars continued in Siam in 1912 when King Vajiravudh decreed that the Buddhist Era would now track the Thai solar calendar, the Siamese version of the Gregorian calendar with the New Year's Day of 1 April. Therefore, the Thai Buddhist Era year of 2455 began on 1 April 1912 (as opposed to 15 April 1912 according to the lunisolar calendar [19] ). The Thai Buddhist Era was further realigned to the Gregorian calendar on 6 September 1940 when Prime Minister Phibunsongkhram decreed 1 January 1941 as the start of the year 2484 BE. As a result, the Year 2483 was only 9 months long, and the Thai Buddhist Era equals that of the Common Era plus 543 years.

Current usage

The lunisolar calendar is used to mark important Buddhist holidays. Many of the holidays are celebrated as public holidays.

Buddhist calendar dateInternational datePublic holiday inNotes
Full moon of PhussaJanuarySri LankaDuruthu Poya: Commemorates the first visit of the Buddha to Sri Lanka
Full moon of MāghaFebruaryCambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand Magha Puja in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and known as Navam Poya in Sri Lanka
Full moon of PhagguṇaMarchLaos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka Boun Pha Vet (Laos), Tabaung Festival (Myanmar), Medin Poya (Sri Lanka)
Almost always in Citta, sometimes in Vesākha13–17 April
(varies by country)
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand Songkran (Southeast Asian New Year)
Traditionally, the New Year's Day is marked when the Sun enters Aries but the day is now fixed in most countries; Myanmar still follows the tradition. It also marks the beginning of the next Buddhist calendar animal zodiac year for certain countries.
Full moon of CittaAprilSri LankaBak Poya: Commemorates the second visit of the Buddha to Sri Lanka
Full moon of VesākhaMayCambodia, Laos, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore Buddha Day (Vesak)
Full moon of JeṭṭhaJuneSri LankaPoson Poya: Commemorates introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka
Full moon of ĀsāḷhaJulyCambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka Vassa
Esala Poya (Sri Lanka)
Asalha Puja (Thailand)
Full moon of SāvaṇaAugustSri LankaNikini Poya
Full moon of PoṭṭhapādaSeptemberLaos, Sri LankaBinara Poya (Sri Lanka)
Full moon of AssayujaOctoberCambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri LankaEnd of Vassa
Boun Suang Huea (Laos); Thadingyut Festival (Myanmar); Vap Poya (Sri Lanka); Wan Ok Phansa (Thailand)
Full moon of KattikaNovemberLaos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia That Luang Festival (Laos); Tazaungdaing Festival (Myanmar); Il Poya (Sri Lanka); Loi Krathong (Thailand); Bon Om Touk (Cambodia)
Full moon of MāgasiraDecemberSri LankaUndhuvap Poya (Sri Lanka)

Computer support

The Thai-style "Buddhist calendar", which is the Gregorian calendar with the Buddhist era, is supported in Java 8, iOS, and macOS.

See also

Notes

  1. (Ohashi 2001: 398–399): Astronomers of ancient India certainly knew of the Metonic cycle, and may have introduced the concept to Southeast Asia. However, the Metonic cycle, which employs tropical years, is incompatible with sidereal based Hindu calendars, and thus was not (and still is not) used in Hindu calendars. Chatterjee (1998: 151) suggests that the Metonic system was introduced to Burma by Europeans. Ohashi (2001: 398–399) rejects Chatterjee's hypothesis saying that "no other trace of European influence is found in South-East Asian astronomy." Instead, Ohashi (2001: 401–403) suggests that China may have been the source of the Metonic cycle.
  2. (Irwin 1909: 26–27): In the mid-19th century, the Burmese Konbaung Dynasty tried to address the issue by introducing a new calculation methodology. However, the new solar year it chose was actually 0.56 second a year less accurate than the version still prevalent in the rest of Southeast Asia. The Konbaung court also modified the Metonic cycle, which did more to re-synchronize the calendar with the seasons than the less accurate solar year.
  3. (Eade 1989: 11): The earliest use of the Burmese calendar in lands part of present-day Thailand dates to the mid-13th century. (Smith 1966: 11): Ayutthaya adopted the Burmese calendar in the 16th century.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thai solar calendar</span> Legal calendar in Thailand

The Thai solar calendar was adopted by King Chulalongkorn in 1888 CE as the Siamese version of the Gregorian calendar, replacing the Thai lunar calendar as the legal calendar in Thailand. Years are now counted in the Buddhist Era (B.E.): พุทธศักราช, พ.ศ.RTGS: Phutthasakkarat which is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar.

The Hindu calendar, also called Panchanga, is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a similar underlying concept for timekeeping based on sidereal year for solar cycle and adjustment of lunar cycles in every three years, but differ in their relative emphasis to moon cycle or the sun cycle and the names of months and when they consider the New Year to start. Of the various regional calendars, the most studied and known Hindu calendars are the Shalivahana Shaka found in the Deccan region of Southern India and the Vikram Samvat (Bikrami) found in Nepal and the North and Central regions of India – both of which emphasize the lunar cycle. Their new year starts in spring. In regions such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the solar cycle is emphasized and this is called the Tamil calendar and Malayalam calendar and these have origins in the second half of the 1st millennium CE. A Hindu calendar is sometimes referred to as Panchangam (पञ्चाङ्गम्), which is also known as Panjika in Eastern India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar New Year</span> Beginning of a year in a lunar calendar

Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year based on lunar calendars or, informally but more widely, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendars follow the lunar phase while lunisolar calendars follow both the lunar phase and the time of the solar year. The event is celebrated by numerous cultures in various ways at diverse dates.

The history of calendars covers practices with ancient roots as people created and used various methods to keep track of days and larger divisions of time. Calendars commonly serve both cultural and practical purposes and are often connected to astronomy and agriculture.

Calendar reform or calendrical reform is any significant revision of a calendar system. The term sometimes is used instead for a proposal to switch to a different calendar design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babylonian calendar</span> Lunisolar calendar

The Babylonian calendar was a lunisolar calendar used in Mesopotamia from around the second millennium BCE until the Seleucid Era, and it was specifically used in Babylon from the Old Babylonian Period until the Seleucid Era. The civil lunisolar calendar was used contemporaneously with an administrative calendar of 360 days, with the latter used only in fiscal or astronomical contexts. The lunisolar calendar descends from an older Sumerian calendar used in the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE.

Vikram Samvat, also known as the Bikram Sambat in Nepal, is a Hindu calendar and official calendar of Nepal historically used in South Asia and still used in several states. It is a solar calendar, using twelve to thirteen lunar months each solar sidereal years. The year count of the Vikram Samvat calendar is usually 57 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar, except during January to April, when it is ahead by 56 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thai calendar</span> Solar and lunar calendars used in Thailand

In Thailand, two main calendar systems are used alongside each other: the Thai solar calendar, based on the Gregorian calendar and used for official and most day-to-day purposes, and the Thai lunar calendar, used for traditional events and Buddhist religious practices.

The Ancient Macedonian calendar is a lunisolar calendar that was in use in ancient Macedon in the 1st millennium BCE. It consisted of 12 synodic lunar months, which needed intercalary months to stay in step with the seasons. By the time the calendar was being used across the Hellenistic world, seven total embolimoi were being added in each 19 year Metonic cycle. The names of the ancient Macedonian Calendar remained in use in Syria even into the Christian era.

The Burmese calendar is a lunisolar calendar in which the months are based on lunar months and years are based on sidereal years. The calendar is largely based on an older version of the Hindu calendar, though unlike the Indian systems, it employs a version of the Metonic cycle. The calendar therefore has to reconcile the sidereal years of the Hindu calendar with the Metonic cycle's near tropical years by adding intercalary months and days at irregular intervals.

Chula Sakarat or Chulasakarat is a lunisolar calendar derived from the Burmese calendar, whose variants were in use by most mainland Southeast Asian kingdoms down to the late 19th century. The calendar is largely based on an older version of the Hindu calendar though unlike the Indian systems, it employs a version of the Metonic cycle. The calendar therefore has to reconcile the sidereal years of the Hindu calendar with Metonic cycle's tropical years by adding intercalary months and intercalary days on irregular intervals.

Nisan-years is an ancient calendar system used around Mesopotamia. Its beginning was from the prehistorical era. Ever since Mesopotamia had historical writings, even before the First Babylonian dynasty of Hammurabi, its calendar used the Nisan-years.

References

  1. 1 2 Ohashi 2007: 354–355
  2. Ohashi 2001: 398–399
  3. 1 2 Kala Vol. 1 2006: 38
  4. Eade 1995: 15–16
  5. 1 2 3 4 Clancy 1906: 56–57
  6. 1 2 3 Irwin 1909: 8–9
  7. Irwin 1909: 5
  8. Busyakul, 2004: 476.
  9. 1 2 Eade 1989: 9–10
  10. Eade 1995: 28–29
  11. Eade 1995: 15
  12. Irwin 1909: 2–3
  13. Eade 1989: 135–145, 165–175
  14. Eade 1995: 22
  15. Luce 1970: 330
  16. "Khmer Calendar".
  17. Irwin 1909: 26–27
  18. Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 216
  19. Eade 1989: 166

Bibliography