Two New Years
In Thailand, the official calendar is the Thai solar calendar. The months, and since 1941, the new year, fall on the same dates as the Gregorian Calendar. The difference is that the years are numbered according to the Buddhist Era, 543 years ahead of the Common Era. In everyday life, both 2017 and 2560 are acceptable ways to write this year. The traditional Thai new year is Songkran in April, but the new year on January 1 is now also celebrated. Because of the sizable population of Chinese descent and proximity to China, the Chinese New Year is also an important holiday. This year, it fell on January 28. Because of the directive that celebrations be toned down in honor of the late king, neither the official New Year nor Chinese New Year were celebrated as usual this year. My family went to the Central World mall for the countdown, usually the most popular celebration in Bangkok. The entire area in front of the mall is filled with food vendors and winter-themed decorations.