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The months and days of the week are the same as those used in the western Gregorian Calendar , only their names differ. The year, however, is counted from the Buddhist Era (B.E.), which is 543 years earlier than the Christian Era ( A.D. ). For example, 2005 A.D. is equivalent to 2548 B.E. The era is based on the passing away (Parinibbana) of Gautama Buddha , which is dated to 543 BC by the Thai. (It is important to remember that only from January 1 , 1941 onwards does this 543 addition/subtraction rule work perfectly. ''See below'') Until 1888 Thailand used a Lunar Calendar , in which the date of the New Year (''Songkran'') was between April 13 and 15 . The new calendar, decreed by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), was called ''Ratana Kosindra Sok'', and was nearly identical with the western Gregorian Calendar . Year counting, however, was in reference of the date of the founding of Bangkok (Ratana Kosindra), April 6 1782 (the first day of Year 1 Ratana Kosindra Era). King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) changed the year counting to Buddhist Era in 1912 and fixed the start of a year to April 1 (''not sure who actually did the latter''). In 1941 (2484 B.E.), per decree by Prime Minister Phibunsongkhram , January 1 became the official start of a new year (so year 2483 B.E. had only nine months). When converting a date prior to that year, one should check whether it falls between January 1 and March 31: if so the number to add or subtract is 542, not 543. Today, both New Year's Day (January 1) and ''Songkran'' (April 13-15) are public holidays. The buddhist feasts are still calculated according to the lunar calendar, so their dates change in the solar calendar every year.
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