Do you know that there are different kind of calendars in the world? Almost all of them have different dates and different beginnings – today, we tell you about a few calendars, and a few civilizations that will not be celebrating 2018 this upcoming year! (Though most of them will be “celebrating” the New Year, in a bid to keep up with the rest of the world!)
People will ring in the year 2561 in Thailand.
In Thailand, 2018 will be the year 2561 (according to the Gregorian calendar). A lot of people don’t know, but Thailand functions according to the Buddhist lunar calendar, which starts from the day that Buddha achieved Nirvana.
However, for official purposes, the Gregorian calendar is used. Such a calendar is also used in countries like Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.
People will ring in the year 2011 in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian calendar is 8 years behind the "regular" one. Not only this, it has 13 months in a year as against the 12 in the usual Gregorian calendar. While 12 months have 30 days each, the last month has just 5 or 6 days depending on whether it is a leap year or not! Finally, their day does not start at 12 in the night, but only at sunrise. The Ethiopian calendar is based on the ancient calendar of Alexandria.
People will ring in the year 5778 in Israel
The Hebrew calendar is officially used in Israel along with the common Gregorian calendar. All the months start with the New moon and the first day of the year (Rosh Hashanah) can only fall on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. Hence, to put it all together, an extra day is added to the previous year.
People will ring in the year 1439 in Pakistan.
The Islamic calendar is used for calculating the dates of religious holidays. The beginning of a month is calculated as the day when the crescent moon first appears after the new moon. According to this, the Islamic calendar is 10-11 days less than the solar year and hence their calendars are different.
People will ring in the year 1939 in India.
Closer home, the unified national Calendar of India was introduced in 1957. It is based on the calculations of the Saka Era, the ancient system of chronology that is used in India and Cambodia. Of course, the modern Gregorian calendar is used for all official purposes and we will still ring in the New Year!
People will ring in the year 30 in Japan.
In Japan, there are 2 existing chronologies: one that starts with Christ’s birth and the traditional one. The latter one is based on the each of the Japanese Emperor’s reigns. It is said that each emperor gives his period a name: the motto of his reign.
Starting from the year 1989, the era has belonged to Emperor Akihito and is known for peace and tranquillity. It is said that, in most official documents, 2 dates are used: one according to the Gregorian calendar and one according to the current era in Japan.
So, what New Year will you be celebrating soon?
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