The Javanese Calendar, or Penanggalan Jawa, is a distinctive calendrical system that blends Islamic, Hindu-Buddhist, and local Javanese traditions. Introduced by Sultan Agung in 1633 AD, the calendar adopts the Islamic lunar system while retaining the year numbering of the Saka calendar.

This system includes two types of weekly cycles:

• Saptawara: 7 day cycle (Ngahad, Senen, Selasa, Rebo, Kemis, Jemuwah, Setu).
• Pancawara: 5 day cycle (Legi, Paing, Pon, Wage, Kliwon).

The combination of these two forms a 35-day cycle used in weton calculations—an individual’s birth day pairing, believed to influence one's character and destiny.

The calendar also features the Wuku system, a 210-day weekly cycle comprising 30 unique names. This system plays an important role in determining auspicious (dina becik) and inauspicious (dina ala) days.

Month names such as Sura, Rejeb, and Besar reflect a mix of Arabic, Sanskrit, and Javanese influences. Today, the calendar is still widely used by Javanese, Sundanese, and Madurese communities to determine dates for traditional ceremonies such as Sekaten and Sérén Taun, as well as for spiritual practices, traditional markets, and other local cultural activities.

Khmer Calendar

The traditional Khmer calendar, known as Chhankitek (ចន្ទគតិ) or Chántîkôthê, is a lunisolar system still in use in Cambodia today. It combines lunar and solar calculations and marks years based on the Buddhist Era (BE), which began with the passing of the Buddha in 544 BCE.

The calendar contains 12 lunar months, such as Mekasay (មេសាយ), each lasting approximately 29.5 days. To stay in sync with the solar year, a leap month or an extra day is occasionally added.

Each year is also associated with an animal from the Khmer zodiac, which parallels the Chinese zodiac, and follows the Sak (ស័ក) system, forming a repeating 60-year cycle. Many of the month and zodiac names are derived from Sanskrit—for example, Seihak (Leo) corresponds to the month Seiha (August).

Days within each month are divided into two phases: Keit (Waxing moon) and Roaj (Waning moon).

The Khmer calendar is primarily used for religious observances, determining festival dates, and guiding agricultural activities. Major celebrations like the Khmer New Year (Choul Chnam Thmey) take place in mid-April, reflecting the calendar’s central role in the spiritual and cultural life of Cambodian society.

Thai Lunar Calendar

The Thai Lunar Calendar (Uthitnansā Pattin Chanthrawat Thai) is a lunisolar system used to determine religious days based on the moon’s phases.

This system combines lunar and solar calculations, with a year consisting of 12 months (duan), though occasionally an extra day (asamsa – วันอสังฆ) or a leap month (utthanasam – ดูนอุทักษาม) is added to align with the solar cycle.

Although Thailand adopted the solar calendar in 1888, the lunar calendar still plays an important role in determining religious observances such as Uposatha (อุปวาส) and cultural celebrations like Loy Krathong and Songkran.

This calendar also influences Thai astrology, including the plaksat system (zodiac), which shares similarities with Chinese astrology while maintaining its unique characteristics.

Thai Solar Calendar

The Thai Solar Calendar (Uthitnansā Pattin Suriyakulkiat Thai) was introduced during the reign of King Chulalongkorn in 1888 as a local adaptation of the Gregorian calendar. Its year count is based on the Buddhist Era (พุทธศักราช, B.E.), which is 543 years earlier than the Gregorian calendar.

Initially, Thailand celebrated the New Year during Songkran in April, but it was changed to January 1st in 1941 by Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram. Month names such as Makharakham (January) and Mesayon (April) are derived from Hindu astrology, reflecting the zodiac.

Meanwhile, the names of the days, such as Wan Athit (Sunday) and Wan Chan (Monday), are associated with celestial bodies and specific colors, for example, red for Sunday and yellow for Monday.

Pawukon Calendar

The Pawukon Calendar (ꦥꦮꦸꦏꦺꦤ꧀) is a traditional Balinese calendar that operates in a fixed 210-day cycle, without a year count. This calendar is divided into 30 wuku (ꦮꦸꦏꦸ), each lasting seven days and having its own name and meaning—such as Sinta to Watuguning.

Unlike the lunar-based Saka calendar, the Pawukon is arithmetic in nature and is believed to have originated from Bali’s agricultural traditions.

In one cycle, ten weeks run simultaneously, from Ekawara (1 day) to Dasawara (10 days), each with its own name and spiritual value (urip). As a result, a single day in this calendar can have up to ten different time identities.

The Pawukon Calendar is very important in the spiritual and social life of the Balinese people. It determines the dates for major ceremonies such as Galungan, Kuningan, and Saraswati, and is also used to calculate auspicious days (dewasa ayu) for various purposes—ranging from weddings to building houses.

Every 210 days, the Balinese celebrate their spiritual birthday, or otonan. A person’s character is also believed to be influenced by the wuku of their birth.

Myanmar Calendar

The Myanmar Calendar (မြန်မာသက္ကရာ), also known as the Myanmar Era (ME), is a lunisolar calendar that combines the lunar cycle with the sidereal year. First introduced in 640 CE in the Kingdom of Sri Ksetra, this calendar is still used today for both civil and religious purposes in Myanmar.

This calendar has 12 lunar months, with days divided into two periods: la hsan (waxing) and la hsout (waning).

To align the lunar cycle with the solar year, the Myanmar calendar uses intercalation adjustments, such as adding an extra month (wa htap) or an extra day (yet ngin) in leap years.

The Myanmar Calendar plays a significant role in the culture and religion, used to determine the dates for festivals and religious events like Thingyan (สงกรานต์ festival) and Thadingyut. Important dates are calculated based on the lunar and solar cycles, as well as auspicious days.

Although the Gregorian calendar is used for administrative purposes, the traditional calendar is still followed in daily life, including the celebration of the Myanmar New Year, which falls in mid-April.

This calendar also governs the division of seasons: nway yar thi (summer), mo yar thi (rainy season), and hsaung yar thi (winter).