Category: Calendar

by Hla Min

Updated : Apr 2026

Background

• Second month of Gregorian Calendar
• Shortest Month
• 28 days for Common Year
• 29 days for Leap Year
• Believed to have 30 days. One day each was given to July (named after Julia’s Caesar) and August (named after Augustus Caesar)

Birthdays

• My mother
• My elder brother
• My grand son
• Bogyoke Aung San
• My paternal uncle
• Dr. Khin Maung U
• Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint

Celebrations

• Pyidaungsu Nay (Union Day)
  Signing of Pin Lon Agreement
• Kha Lay Myar Nay (Children’s Day) —Birthday of Bogyoke Aung San
• Presidents’ Day (US)
  Georgia Washington; Abraham Lincoln …
• Valentine’s Day
• Super Bowl
  American Football Championship
• Some years
  Lunar New Year
  Htamane Pwe
  Ovada Partimauk

by Hla Min

Updated : Apr 2026

Celebrations

• Early civilizations celebrate seasonal changes such as the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox.
• Stonehenge, Yule Tide, and the sighting of Sirius (in conjunction with the floods of River Nile) have fascinated a wide spectrum of people.

December

• December used to be the 10th (and not the 12th and last) month as implied by “Dec”.
  It has its fair share of religious and social events. It is time for some companies to have the annual shut down. It is time for classic and new stories about Christmas.
• ‘White Christmas” by Bing Crosby was the best selling single for many years.
• “Blue Christmas” by Elvis Presley has been digitally manipulated to feature a duet with Lisa Marie.
• Ma Khin Khin Kyu (Ann, A67) e-mailed me with a YouTube link to “iPhones & IPads sending Merry Christmas”.
• Thanks to Sayas and alums for sending e-greetings.

Feedback

Roman Year

Dear Ko HM,

Happy holidays to you and your family.

Keep up your good work. We never cease to learn something new from our writings.

Latest one being December from the Latin “Dec” for December. To quote a Burmese saying, “Tha De Ma Mu, Gu Ma Myin”. It never crossed my mind to connect the Latin ‘Dec’ for 10 to December. Now that you got me thinking, Latin Sept (7), Oct (8) and Nov (9) stood for September, October and November.

I have read that the Roman year used to start in March (spring time), when the Roman Senate completed the budget for the year and the legions were sent out to fight the enemy. Someone got the bright idea to send the legions out in January to catch the barbarians in their winter camps. The senate completed the budget by January so that the legions could march out during the winter and January became the start of the year.

by Hla Min

Updated : Apr 2026

Background

• It is the first month of the Gregorian Calendar.
• It is named after Janus, two-faced God to symbolizetwo tasks : bid farewell to the old year and usher in the new year
• It has 31 days.

Events

January 1

• New Year’s Day (Start of the New Year). For most people, it is a holiday. In most parts of the world, New Year’s Eve is celebrated on 31st December.
• Annual Soon Kyway at Panditarama (Shwe Taung Gone) by Ye Than (Winner Inn)

• Peasant’s Day in the Union of Burma. It was a holiday. It was moved to 2nd March by the Revolutionary Council.
• Sometimes : Lunar (Chinese) New Year
• Sometimes : Sar So Daw Nay

January 4

• Burma gained Independence on January 4, 1948 at 4:20AM
• Grapevine : Burma was given a choice: “January 4th or January 6th”
• In Lighter Vein : A British Official said, “We would have to get up early once on January 4, 1948. The Burmese will have to get up early January 4th of the following years.”
• Unsolved Mystery : Who chose 4:20AM? Why?

Third Monday in USA

• Martin Luther King’s Day

Birthdays

• Saya U Than Lwin (Eric Lwin, my cousin uncle, GBNF) celebrated his birthday on January 1st.

• Dr. Khin Kyi Nyunt (Cherry Tin Gyi, GBNF) and her elder Dr. Khin Tun (Peter Tin U, GBNF) celebrated their birthdays together on or around January 12. They offer requisites to the monks at Chan Myei Yeik Tha.

Independence Day Regatta at Kandawgyi in 1948

U Tin U, Dr. Pe Nyun (Dick San Pe), Dr. Pe Thein (Tom San Pe) and Bobby Tin rowed for RUBC against the Burmese Laung at the Independence Day Regatta.

by Hla Min

Updated : Apr 2026

• A solar calendar is based on the orbit of the earth around the sun. Typically, it takes 365.2422 solar days to complete the orbit. A leap year attempts to adjust the calendar by adding an extra day every four years.
• A lunar calendar is based on the orbit of the moon around the earth. Typically, it takes 29.6 days to complete a cycle.
• A luni-solar calendar is a “hybrid” calendar that uses “lunar” month and “solar” year. The calendars used by Chinese and Vietnamese have 12 months in a year and an extra month in the year in which the Lunar and Solar Calendars are synchronized.
  The CNY (Chinese New Year) and Tet (Vietnamese New Year) occur in late January or early February.
• Julian Calendar
  Leap year : if a year is divisible by 4
• Gregorian Calendar
  Leap year :
  if a Century year is divisible by 400
  Other years if divisible by 4
• Burmese Calendar
  The Burmese use a Luni-Solar-Socio-Religious Calendar.
  It is used for social and religious events.
  There are 12 lunar months with a total of 355 days in a Common Burmese Year.
  There is a difference of 10 days with a Common Year in the Gregorian Calendar.
  An inter-calary month named “Second Waso” is usually added every three years to sync again with the Solar Calendar.
  It is known as “Wah Htutt”.
  If needed, an additional day is added in “Wah Gyi Htutt”.
• Civil Calendar
• Academic Calendar
• Appointment Calendar
  

by Hla Min

Updated : Apr 2026

Some holidays

• have fixed date
• have relative dates
• are designated as Public holidays
• are religious

January

• Jan 1 : New Year’s Day
• Jan 4 : Independence Day in Myanmar
• Martin Luther King’s Day in US
• Occasionally : Lunar New Year

February

• Feb 12 : Union Day
• Feb 13 : Children’s Day (Bogyoke Aung San’s birthday)
• Feb 14 : Valentine’s Day
• US Presidents’ Day
• Occasionally : Lunar New Year
• Occasionally : Full Moon Day of Tabodwe — Htamane Pwe & [Buddha’s] Exhortation Day

March

• Mar 2 : Peasant’s Day was moved from Jan 1 in order to celebrate the Coup D’eat
• Phone Maw Day
• Burma’s Human Rights Day (celebrated by Berkeley)
• Mar 27 : Resistance Day was renamed as Armed Forces Day
• First Day of Spring : Persian New Year

April

• Thingyan : Three or four days of Water Festival
• Myanmar New Year

May

• May 1 : May Day in some countries
• May 5 : Cinco de Mayo
• Mother’s Day in the US

June

• Jun 6 : D Day
• Jun 6 : Ah Loke Thamar Ah Yay Ah Khinn
• Father’s Day in the US

July

• Jul 4 : Independence Day in the US
• Jul 7 : Students’ protest that was brutally crushed
• Jul 8 : Demolition of the Rangoon University Student’s Union
• Jul 19 : Arzani Nay
• Apollo 11 landed in Tranquility Bay on the Moon in July 1969
• My poem “Men on the Moon” was sent to NASA via USIS. A copy was published in the Guardian.

August

• 8-8-88 : start of a long struggle to restore Democracy in Myanmar
• Several birthdays in my extended family

September

• Crushing the hopes of Multi-party Democracy
• Occasionally : End of Burmese Buddhist Lent

October

• Occasionally : End of Burmese Buddhist Lent (Thadinkyut)
• “Deepavali” or “Diwali” celebrations are also celebrated around October. It is known as the “Festival of Lights”.
• “Halloween” occurs every year on October 31 with “Trick or
• Treat” by the children and [optional] “Halloween Costume Party” by young and old adults.

November

• Elections in the US (Local races & Resolutions every year, House of Representatives every two years, One third of Senators every two years, President every four years)
• Nov 22 : JFK assassinated (Conspiracy Theory survives)
• Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the US

December

• U Thant Ah Yay Ah Khinn : dark day in the history of Burma
• Apollo 8 orbited the Moon in December 1968
• Dec 25 : Christmas
• Dec 31 : New Year’s Eve

Grapevine says that some holy days are preceded by some “fun events”.

• Halloween (October 31) precedes “All Saints Day” (November 1).
• Similarly, “Mardi Gras” (“Fat Tuesday”) falls on the day before “Ash Wednesday” signifying the start of the Lent.

by Hla Min

Updated : Apr 2026

• Academic calendar: It may span two years. For example, the Class of 1958 has to attend classes in 1957 and 1958.

• Civil calendar : It is used for Civil or Administrative purposes. It is also used for general purpose by people and organizations
• Early Roman calendar : It covered only 10 months.
  September, October, November and December were 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th months.
  Note that “Sept” stands for 7, “Oct” for 8, “Nov” for 9, and “Dec” for 10.
• Fiscal calendar : Usually has four Quarters: Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4
• Gregorian calendar : Named after Pope Gregory. It has “leap year” correction for century years. A century year is considered a leap year if it is divisible by 400. e.g. 1900 is not a leap year, but 2000 is a leap year
• Julian calendar : Named after Julius Caesar. It is a revised Roman calendar with 12 months. December is the 12th month.
• Lunar calendar : It is based on the monthly cycles of the moon. A lunar year usually has 355 days. Some lunar calendars are “pure” (e.g. Islamic calendar). Some lunar calendars are luni-solar calendars.
• Luni-solar calendar : It syncs up with the solar calendar by adding a month every three years.
• Mayan calendar : It is a “long count” calendar used by the Mayan civilization. It is made up of 260 days (13 x 20 day group). nThe great cycle used by the calendar ended in December 2012 causing doomsday proponents to raise alarm about the “end of the world”.
• Myanmar calendar : It is a luni-solar, socio-religious calendar. Many festivals are celebrated on the Full Moon day of selected months (e.g. Kason)The extra month used for synchronization is called “Second Waso”.
• Religious calendar : It is used to celebrate religious events.
  The Islamic calendar is a purely lunar calendar. Hence, the holy month of Ramadan falls in different months of the Gregorian calendar.
• Solar calendar : A solar year usually has 365 days. It takes about 365.2422 days for the earth to orbit the sun. The difference is adjusted by adding a day to February in a leap year.

by Hla Min

Updated : Apr 2026

Some holidays

• have fixed date
• have relative dates
• are designated as Public holidays
• are religious

January

• Jan 1 : New Year’s Day
• Jan 4 : Independence Day in Myanmar
• Martin Luther King’s Day in US
• Occasionally : Lunar New Year

February

• Feb 12 : Union Day
• Feb 13 : Children’s Day (Bogyoke Aung San’s birthday)
• Feb 14 : Valentine’s Day
• US Presidents’ Day
• Occasionally : Lunar New Year
• Occasionally : Full Moon Day of Tabodwe — Htamane Pwe & [Buddha’s] Exhortation Day

March

• Mar 2 : Peasant’s Day was moved from Jan 1 in order to celebrate the Coup D’eat
• Phone Maw Day
• Burma’s Human Rights Day (celebrated by Berkeley)
• Mar 27 : Resistance Day was renamed as Armed Forces Day
• First Day of Spring : Persian New Year

April

• Thingyan : Three or four days of Water Festival
• Myanmar New Year

May

• May 1 : May Day in some countries
• May 5 : Cinco de Mayo
• Mother’s Day in the US

June

• Jun 6 : D Day
• Jun 6 : Ah Loke Thamar Ah Yay Ah Khinn
• Father’s Day in the US

July

• Jul 4 : Independence Day in the US
• Jul 7 : Students’ protest that was brutally crushed
• Jul 8 : Demolition of the Rangoon University Student’s Union
• Jul 19 : Arzani Nay
• Apollo 11 landed in Tranquility Bay on the Moon in July 1969
• My poem “Men on the Moon” was sent to NASA via USIS. A copy was published in the Guardian.

August

• 8-8-88 : start of a long struggle to restore Democracy in Myanmar
• Several birthdays in my extended family

September

• Crushing the hopes of Multi-party Democracy
• Occasionally : End of Burmese Buddhist Lent

October

• Occasionally : End of Burmese Buddhist Lent (Thadinkyut)
• “Deepavali” or “Diwali” celebrations are also celebrated around October. It is known as the “Festival of Lights”.
• “Halloween” occurs every year on October 31 with “Trick or
• Treat” by the children and [optional] “Halloween Costume Party” by young and old adults.

November

• Elections in the US (Local races & Resolutions every year, House of Representatives every two years, One third of Senators every two years, President every four years)
• Nov 22 : JFK assassinated (Conspiracy Theory survives)
• Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the US

December

• U Thant Ah Yay Ah Khinn : dark day in the history of Burma
• Apollo 8 orbited the Moon in December 1968
• Dec 25 : Christmas
• Dec 31 : New Year’s Eve

Grapevine says that some holy days are preceded by some “fun events”.

• Halloween (October 31) precedes “All Saints Day” (November 1).
• Similarly, “Mardi Gras” (“Fat Tuesday”) falls on the day before “Ash Wednesday” signifying the start of the Lent.

by Hla Min

Updated : Apr 2026

Background

• 2nd month of Gregorian Calendar
• Shortest month. It has 28 days in a Common Year and 29 days in a Leap Year.

Burma/Myanmar

February 12

• Pyidaungsu Nay (ပြည်ထောင်စုနေ့ Union Day) is a public holiday in the Union of Burma. It commemorates the signing of the Pinlong Sar Choke (ပင်လုံစာချုပ် Panglong Agreement) on February 12, 1947.

• Wrote a poem “Our Unity” with the pen name Maung Hlaing Phyo for publication in the Working People’s Daily. Received K15 for the poem.

February 13

• Bogyoke Aung San was born on February 13, 1915.
• Zartar name : Htain Lin
• Changed name to rhyme with that of Aung Than (his elder brother).
• Centennial celebrations for Bogyoke were held in 2015.

• February 13 is also as Khalay Myar Nay (Children’s Day).

Tabodwe Festival

The Full Moon of Tabodwe often falls in February.
Two celebrations are held.

• Htamane Pwe (ထမနဲပွဲ Sticky Rice Festival)
• Ovada Partimauk Day (ဩဝါဒပါတိမောက်Exhortation)

USA

February 14

• Valentine’s Day (Chit Thu Myar Nay ချစ်သူများနေ့) is not a public holiday
• Many people send greeting cards and presents.

Presidents’ Day

• In the early days, there were two holidays. One to celebrate George Washington’s birthday.
  Another to celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
• Later a single holiday in February to honor all US Presidents was proposed.
• Some states continue to celebrate the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln.

Canada

• “Family Day” (holiday) is observed on the 2nd Monday of February in Ontario.
• Family Day is observed on the 3rd Monday of February in British Columbia.

Lunar New Year

• Some countries (including China and Vietnam) observe the Lunar Year.
• Lunar Calendar is based on the Chinese Zodiac consisting of Twelve signs staring with Rat and ending with Pig.
• Lunar New Year occurs at the end of January or the beginning of February. The date is not fixed in the Gregorian Calendar.

Our Unity (Poem)

• My poem was published in WPD (Working People’s Daily)
• I composed the poem for “Union Day”
• Mg Hlaing Phyo is one of my pen names