Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 20, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
There are a number of date systems used around the world. The most-widely used is called the Gregorian calendar, with the BC and AD date system familiar to many people. There is another calendar system used by many people around the world called the Buddhist calendar. This calendar system begins its reckoning based on the birth of Buddha. Since this religious leader was born in 543 BC (or Jesus was born 543 years after Buddha, depending on how you look at it), you can convert from one system to another simply by making the proper adjustment to the year.
In other words, the year 2002 in the Gregorian system is expressed as 2545 in the Buddhist system. Likewise, the year 2500 in the Buddhist system would be 1957 in the Gregorian system. Thus, suppose you have the Buddhist date 430611, where 43 is the year (2543), 06 is the month, and 11 is the day of the month. You can convert this to a Gregorian equivalent by simply adding 1957 to the year, in this manner, assuming the Buddhist date is in cell A8:
=DATE(MID(A8,1,2)+1957,MID(A8,3,2),MID(A8,5,2))
The formula essentially pulls the characters of the Buddhist date apart, adds 1957 to the year, and uses the DATE function to put the pieces back together into the Gregorian system.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2049) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.
Dive Deep into Macros! Make Excel do things you thought were impossible, discover techniques you won't find anywhere else, and create powerful automated reports. Bill Jelen and Tracy Syrstad help you instantly visualize information to make it actionable. You’ll find step-by-step instructions, real-world case studies, and 50 workbooks packed with examples and solutions. Check out Microsoft Excel 2019 VBA and Macros today!
Want to know which day of the month is the first business day? There are a few ways you can check to make sure the date ...
Discover MoreSometimes the format in which you receive data is not the same format that would be optimal for Excel. For instance, you ...
Discover MoreNeed a way to enter dates from every second Tuesday (or some other regular interval)? Excel makes it easy, providing ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2025-03-14 18:05:06
Barbie
Wouldn't the number to add be 543? 1957 was just one of the years given as an example.
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments