HlaMin

Category: Calendar

  • Time

    Time

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2025

    Clock at Gyogone Campus

    AM, PM & Military Time

    • AM stands for Ante Meridian.
    • PM stands for Post Meridian.
    • A day consists of 12 hours for AM, and 12 hours for PM.
    • Some missed schedules (e.g. flights) due to the AM/PM confusion.
    • Military time uses the 24 hour notation.

    Daylight Savings Time (DST)

    • Some countries implement DST.
    • In the US, some states do not implement DST.
    • “Spring Forward. Fall Back” has some advantages in the early days.
    • Legislation changes have moved the start and end dates for DST.
    • Some say that DST does not save energy, and the laws should be repealed.

    Clocks in ancient times

    • The ancient Burmese Kingdom once employed the 60-hour day using the “water” clock. Day time can range from 24 to 32 hours. Ditto for Evening & Night time.
    • Some early civilizations use the Sun Dial.

    General

    • The use of atomic clocks has to be supplemented by smart algorithms for idiosyncrasies introduced by DST, Leap second (to name a few).
    • Depending on the culture, the Day of Week may start on a Sunday or a Monday.
    • There are numerous software libraries dealing with Calendars, Dates, Times and Holidays.

    U Khin Maung Zaw (EC76) wrote :

    DST in US, especially at the Spring time when the clock moves an hour ahead (Spring Forward), always have some good stories. Some years back we used to have a large group of people playing soccer on Sunday early mornings, as is called pickup games. It never failed to see people showed up late, forgot to reset the clock, every year. Thank God! The change was on Sundays, or else there would be more interesting work-related stories.

    Microsoft Windows have those dates usually baked into the system, as a result when the DST was extended 2008, they had to release a patch to fix the issue.

    A bill (a law) to make “DST/Daylight Saving Time” permanent so as not to readjust the clocks twice a year, was approved by the US Congress’s upper chamber, the Senate in March this year. https://www.reuters.com/…/us-senate-approves-bill-that…/.

    Unfortunately, Congress’s lower chamber, the House of Representatives, so far fails to pick it up for vote. As a result, the law is in limbo now.

    It will only become law only after the President of the US of A sign it after the House of Representatives approve it.

    Just a small technicality…

    Posts

    • Clocks
    • Calendars
    • Time Management

  • March 13

    by Hla Min

    Updated: June 2025

    1988

    Phone Maw
    • It was a sad and dark day.
    • It was a milestone in the struggle to restore democracy in our beloved land.
    • Phone Maw was struck by a stray bullet. He passed away.
    Soon Kyaw invitation

    Celebrations

    • March 13 is observed as “Burma Human Rights Day” (e.g. in the City of Berkeley).
    • March 13 is known as “Phone Maw & Soe Naing” Nay.
    • Soon offerings are made in their memory.

    2016

    • RITAA was formed on March 13, 2016

    2018

    • A huge vinyl with the RITAA Logo was made available on March 13, 2018. Thanks to Ko Eric Foo for the photo and Mech Ko Lay for the vinyl copy.
  • December 1920

    December 1920

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2025

    There were three significant events.

    • Establishment of RU
    • First RU Students’ Strike
    • Birth of U Ba Toke

    Rangoon University

    On December 1, 1920, Rangoon University was established with Rangoon College and Judson College as its constituents. There were only three Faculties : Arts, Science, and Law.

    Matthew Hunter

    RU later extended its offerings. The opening of engineering classes was planned around 1923 and executed in 1924.

    In 1927, the first batch of engineering students (who had Bachelors degree) graduated with the “accelerated courses” option.

    In 1928, the second batch of engineering students (who joined after finishing the I.Sc.) graduated.

    RU celebrated the Golden Jubilee in 1970.

    Dr. Aung Gyi (Professor of Civil Engineering) and U Thet Lwin (Burmese saya at the Institute of Economics) were GJ organizers.

    The term “Swel Daw Yeik” became synonymous with RIT, its predecessors and successors.

    GJ Performers

    Swel Daw Yeik Ah Nyeint (စွယ်တော်ရိပ် အငြိမ့်), Htee Yein (ထီးယိမ်း) & Tabin Daing Ah Ka (တပင်တိုင်အက) were hits at the GJ celebration.

    Htee Yein

    First RU Students’ Strike

    On December 5, 1920, several students led the Boycott of the Rangoon University Act of 1920.

    The boycott was responsible for the amendments to the RU Act.

    A pillar was set up on Shwe Dagon Pagoda in memory of the Boycott.

    The event is honored as National Day (Amyotha Aung Pwe Nay အမျိုးသားအောင်ပွဲနေ့) . The Burmese date & not December 5th is used for the celebrations.

    National Schools (Amyotha Kyaung အမျိုးသားကျောင်း) were opened. U Po Kyar, Arzani U Razak, U Nu and U Thant are notable sayas from the National Schools.

    U Ba Toke

    Book about U Ba Toke

    He was born on December 26, 1920.

    He is one of the oldest and senior sayas associated with the engineering schools in Burma.

    Even though RU was closed during the Japanese Occupation, he completed his M.Sc. and taught at the make-shift classes on Mogul (Shwe Bon Tha street ရွှေဘုံသာ လမ်း) .

    He served as Assistant Lecturer, Lecturer and Professor of Maths at RU and RASU.

    He was promoted to Rector, MASU. After some time, he volunteered to relocate to RIT as Professor of Maths.

    As a Saya of engineering sayas, he was invited to attend SPZP-2000 and give a speech.

    He attended all SPZPs except SPZP-2002 (which he had to forgo due to Sayagadaw’s health and demise).

    He played Chinlon and Soccer in his University days.

    He headed the Burmese delegation to the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 1964.

    He served as Commandant of the Luyechun Camp.

    Saya U Ba Toke’s birthday

    Until his 80s, he was active (e.g. walk to Shwe Dagon Pagoda with his dhamma friends).

    In his 90’s, he had physical limitations, but his mental faculty remained.

    He passed away on December 2, 2020 — the day after the RU Centennial. It was a few days short of his Centennial birthday.

  • August

    Background

    • It was the 6th month in the old Roman Calendar, and it had 30 days.
    • The month was given an extra day and renamed in honor of Augustus Caesar.
    • It is the 8th month in the Gregorian Calendar, and has 31 days.

    Events

    Birthdays

    • Two sisters, my grand daughter, several cousins and I are August born.

    August 2016

    • In August 2016, Ko Maurice Chee (M75) organized a birthday soon kwyay for me at the Dhammananda Vihara in Half Moon Bay, California.
      The sayas and alumni presented me an Appreciation award.
    Birthday Celebration at Half Moon Bay
    Alumni Appreciation Award
    Attendees
    With spouse, DIL and Granddaughter

    Deaths

    • My Father-in-law, Mother-in-law and Brother-in-law passed away in August.
    • U Silanandabhivamsa passed away in August. I served as the Master of Ceremonies at the Memorial Service. I was member of the Magazine Committee and contributing editor of “Homage to Sayadaw U Silananda”.

    1988

    • 8-8-88 (August 8, 1988) and the following days mark the hope and then despair of the people longing for the end of the Adhamma Era.
    • The event was inspired in part by numerologists who remembered the historic event about Mingyi Yan Naung in 888 Burmese Era. They extrapolated the magic of No. 8 from three 8’s to four 8’s.
    • The organizers and Ko Nay Min fed news to a BBC correspondent.

    2008

    • Most Chinese think that the number 8 is lucky.
    • Beijing Olympics was opened on 8-8-08 (August 8, 2008).

  • September

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2025

    Background

    • 7th month of old Roman calendar
      “Sept” means Seven.
    • 10th month of Gregorian calendar
    • It has 30 days.

    Events

    September 18, 1988

    • The hopes of Multi-party Democracy movement was crushed by another brutal military take over.
    • Bogyoke Saw Maung led the Coup. He was later ousted by Than Shwe and Khin Nyunt.

    Autumnal Equinox

    • For Northern Hemisphere
      On or around September 22

    Occasional

    • End of Burmese Buddhist Lent
      The Full Moon Day of Thadinkyut falls in September or October.

    Movie & Song

    • Come September

    Birthdays

    • Saya U Tin Htut (M)
    U Tin Htut
    • Saya U Lay Aung (M)
    • U Tin Htoon (A60)
    U Tin Htoon
    • U Ngwe Tun (C69)
    U Ngwe Tun (Standing Rightmost)
    • U Myint Soe (M79)
    • Sayama Daw May Saw Lwin
    • U Mya Thein (Kenneth)
    • Dr. Aye Kyaw (Victor)

    M75

    M75 members paid respect to Sayagyi U Ba Than on September 25, 2017.

    Attendees include

    • H.E. U Win Khaing (now GBNF)
    • U Tin Soe
    • U Than Po (now GBNF)
    • U Hla Win
    • U Ye Lin Oo
    • U Zaw Min

    The group attended the birthday celebration ceremony and received blessing.

  • April

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2025

    Background

    • 2nd month of old Roman Calendar
    • 4th month of the Gregorian Calendar
    • Has 30 days

    Events

    Thingyan

    • Thingyan means “Change”.
    • Cula Thingyan (small change) occurs every month when the Sun sign enters a new Yathi / Rasi.
    • Maha Thingyan (big change) occurs every year on April 13
      In the Geocentric Model, the Sun sign enters Meiktha on April 13.
    • Three or four days of Water Festival. Some perform meritorious deeds (e.g. helping the Elderly, observe Eight Precepts).

    Myanmar New Year

    • Usually falls on April 16 (for three days of Thingyan).
    • Often fall on April 17 (for four days of Thingyan).

    USA

    Taxes

    • The deadline for filing taxes in the USA is April 15. If April 15 falls on the weekend, the deadline is moved to the following Monday.
    • In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline was moved to July 15.

    Sports

    • NCAA Basketball Tournament Finals. Tournament starts with 64 – 66 College Teams in March. Four teams make to the “Final Four”. The winner is crowned NCAA Basketball Champion.

    Religion

    • Occasional : Passover (celebrated by the Jews)
    • Occasional : Easter / Resurrection of Jesus Christ (celebrated by Christians)
    • Occasional : The Islamic Calendar is purely lunar; so Ramadan falls on different months in the Solar Calendar. In 2020, Ramadan fell in March.
    • In 2020, due to “Social Distancing” measures to contain COVID-19, most celebrations were toned down.

    General

    Name of a Girl / Woman

    • April Chit Khin
    • April Shan Lone
    • April Thein

    Relatives

    Over the years, we lost three relatives during the Thingyan period.

    • U Than Lwin (Eric, uncle)
    • Daw Mya Mya (Emerald, cousin)
    • Dr. Khin Tun (Peter, son of my cousin U Tin U) on April 13, 2020

    On a bright note, there are some birthdays and anniversaries of uncles, aunts and cousins.

    Songs & Saying

    • April Love (Movie / Song)
    • April in Portugal (Song)
    • April showers bring May flowers (Saying)
    • April Fool (Pranks)

    Ngapali Beach

    • Wrote a poem about Ngapali Beach. Visited Ngapali three times.One trip was to give a Guest Lecture at the Ngapali Luyechun Camp for university students in the Summer of 1988.
    Poem

    RIT Alumni Newsletter

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img_20191003_0006-2.jpg
    • Started the “RIT Alumni International Newsletter” in April 1999.
    • It was partly responsible for the “First RIT Alumni Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe” (SPZP-2000) in San Francisco in October 2000.

    April 2018

    69er Gathering in Yangon

    There were two Auspicious Celebrations on the 69er monthly breakfast gathering at Royal Rose Restaurant (7 April, 2018)

    • Birthday for Mehm Aye Chan (M69)
    • 45th Wedding Anniversary for Hla Myint Thein (C69) & Myint Myint Than (C71)

    Sad News

    • Ko San Linn C69 passed away on 5th April 2018 at Asia Royal Hospital. Funeral services took place on the April 11 am at Hindi Cemetery, Yae Wai. Ko San Linn is GBNF serial 82.

    Gathering at iNapa Winery in April 2018

    • U Myint Swe (EP74) and Daw San San (EC74) gave us a ride to iNapa Winery to attend the gathering hosted by U Gordon Kaung (M83) and Daw Lillian Kaung (EC83).
    • Attendees include U Aung Soe Win (Consul General) & family, U Kai (Myanmar Gazette) & brother; Saya U Maung Maung (George), Saya U Myat Htoo, U Ko Ko Zin, U Aung Myint Oo, U Nyunt Than, U San Lin, U Myo Aung and spouses; Daw Mu Mu Khin & some guests (including historian of Atlas Peak).
    • U Aung Soe Win presented a Myanmar Flag. Group photos were taken in front of the flags.
    • iNapa Wine presented two bottles of Premium Wine: one for U Aung Soe Win and one for CGLA employees.
    • The event was reported in Myanmar Gazette.

    2018 Thingyan in the Bay Area

    • Ko Yu Ket (Edward Saw, EC85) gave us a ride to the Thingyan Festival at Dhammananda Vihara (Half Moon Bay Monastery). The compound was jam packed. Many cars had to park along Highway 1 (outside the compound). Thanks to EC and BOD of TBSA (Theravada Buddhist Society of America), volunteers & food donors.
    • Among the attendees were Saya U Maung Maung (George, ChE66), U Thaung Nyunt (M87), U Walter Tan (M70), U Ko Ko Zin (M84), Ko Sein Myint (EP69)’s daughter and grand daughter.
  • Friday

    Friday

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2025

    • It is a day of the week. There are seven days in a week.
    • It is a week day and not a week end.
    • It is also known as Frige’s Day (named after the goddess Frige).
    • It is associated with the goddess Venus and the planet Venus.
    • Sabbath for Muslims

    Terms & Usage

    • Good Friday : Crucifixion of Jesus
    • Friday the 13th : Superstition
    • Black Friday : Based on context, may be good or bad
    • TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday) : Most companies have holidays for the week end.
    • Friday — character from Robinson Crusoe
      Man Friday — Loyal personal assistant
      Girl Friday — extension of above
    • Holiday in Muslim countries

    Ko Tin Maung Lay (M69, GBNF)

    • He passed away in Dubai on a Friday. Most offices were closed.
    • His company and friends took extra effort to enable his remains to be flown back home ASAP to California.
  • Days

    Days

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2025

    We were aware of

    • Father’s Day
    • Mother’s Day
    Three Mothers
    • Labor Day
    • Christmas
    • Thanksgiving

    For some time, we were not aware that some of them are celebrated on different days (depending on the country and religious order).

    For example, the Orthodox Church celebrate Christmas and Easter according to the old calendars (e.g. Julian).

    The Mahayana celebrate the events (Birth, Enlightenment, Maha Parinibbana) on dates different from those of Theravada Buddhists.

    We later learn about

    • Kabyar (Poem) Nay
    • Myat Saya (Teacher) Nay
    • Secretary Day
    • Friend Day
    • …

    Some wonder if there are Grandfather’s Day, Grandmother’s Day and Grandparent’s Day.

    Not all events are holidays.

    Even among holidays, there are Public Holidays, State Holidays, and Bank Holidays.

    There may be good reasons (social, commercial) for having the designated days.

    For us, every day is Thanksgiving (time to repay to our parents and mentors for their unbounded love and care).

    Adeline Hpyu Hpyu Aung wrote :

    Yes Saya.
    We should be thanking God, Parents and teachers everyday, without them we will not be who we are.

    KMZ wrote :

    My left brain at times over-analyzed many of these days.
    Many of these holidays are the work of “Holiday Industrial Complex”.

    As Ma Adelyne Hpyu Hpyu Aung posted, some of these days like Mothers’ Day/Fathers’ Day should be 365 days a year, not necessarily just the designated day a year.

    Believe it nor not there also is a ‘National Splurge Day’ which is June 18th.
    US Congress eventually passed a law to stop creating those days.

  • March 2018

    SF Gathering in March 2018

    Saya U Maung Maung (George, ChE66) and Daw Eng Eng (youngest sister of Saya U Myat Thwin (ChE66, Texas)) hosted a lunch gathering at Hong Kong Flower Lounge

    Attendees :

    • Saya U Aung Myaing (ChE72, then in Bangkok)
    • Daw Gyn Yu (ChE72, then in Bangkok)
    • U Tun Shwe (ChE72, then in California)
    • Daw Trixie Tan (ChE72)
    • Saya U Thein Aung (James, Met72)
    • Daw San San Nyunt (Sandra, M77)

    Update

    • U Aung Myaing and Daw Gyn Yu now spend a lot of their time in California. They hosted lunch gatherings at their daughter’s house. On one occasion, she prepared Mohinga, Nangyi Toke and Beik Kut Kyee Kike.
    Love birds
    • U Tun Shwe is currently staying in Virginia to be close to his daughters.
    U & Mrs. Tun Shwe
    • U Thein Aung and Daw San San Nyunt share their stay in Northern and Southern California.
    Ba La(h) Gyi
    • Saya U Maung Maung and Daw Eng Eng have to drive two hours to attend gatherings in the SF Bay Area. Daw Eng Eng volunteers as a Tai Chi instructor.
    Saya U Maung Maung
    Daw Eng Eng

  • Dark Days in Burma

    July 19, 1947

    Arzani Nay
    • Arzani Nay
    • Assassination of
    • Bogoke Aung San
    • Thakin Mya
    • Deedok U Ba Cho
    • Mahn Ba Khaing
    • Sao San Htun, Mong Pawn Sawbwa
    • U Ba Win
    • U Razak
    • ICS U Ohn Maung
    • Yebaw Ko Htwe

    July 7, 1962

    • Crackdown on RU students
      Prior events :
    • Abolishing the RU Senate and Council
    • Forced retirement or transfer of academics
    • Creation of a new Education Council led by Commodore Than Pe
    • Restrictions on Hall residents
    • Black out in the RU estate
    • Protests by RU students
    • Brutal crackdown by the military

    July 8, 1962

    • Demolition of RU Student Union Building

    The Rangoon Daily (Wednesday 11 July, 1962)

    • Speech by the then Number One
    • Students “ordered” to return to their home towns
    • List of 7th July victims
    Newspaper (July 11, 1962)

    Kabyar by Dagon Taya

    Dagon Taya

    Coup in 1988