II.

Dating the Millennium

Although January 1, 2000, was popularly celebrated as the beginning of the 3rd millennium, there are differing beliefs about when the new millennium actually began. The Western dating of the millennium is based on the Gregorian calendar, which is the most globally recognized system for marking the passage of years.

According to the Gregorian calendar, the new millennium did not begin until January 1, 2001. The Gregorian calendar follows the ad (Latin anno Domini, “in the year of our Lord”) system introduced by Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century ad. The ad system counts time from the year Jesus Christ was born. Dionysius dated Jesus’ birth in the year ad 1 rather than in ad 0, because Roman numerals, which were still in use, had no symbol for zero. In this dating system, each century begins with a year ending in 01 and ends with a year ending in 00. For example, the 19th century began in 1801 and ended in 1900. Therefore, December 31, 2000, ended the old millennium, and January 1, 2001, marked the start of the next millennium in this dating system. See Calendar: Gregorian Calendar.

Some people believe the new millennium, as marked by the birth of Jesus, began several years earlier than 2001. According to many scholars, Dionysius made various errors in calculating Jesus’ birth date. Historical evidence indicates that Jesus was actually born in 4 bc or earlier. As a result, the 2,000-year anniversary of the birth of Jesus may have occurred sometime in the 1990s.

Other people believe that the change to the new millennium lasts a period of 33 years, corresponding to the life span of Jesus. According to some historians, the year 1033—regarded by many people as the 1,000-year anniversary of Jesus’ death—resulted in widespread millennial fervor in which people made pilgrimages to Jerusalem and anticipated the destruction or renewal of the world. Some people have predicted that the year 2033 will have millennial significance as well and will be viewed as the date that marks the beginning of the new millennium.

About two-thirds of the people in the world use religious or ceremonial calendars in addition to the Gregorian calendar. For example, January 1, 2000, on the Gregorian calendar was the year 1420 on the Islamic calendar, 5760 on the Jewish calendar, and 4697 on the Chinese calendar. However, even people who used these other calendars were aware of the global significance of the Gregorian calendar years 2000 and 2001.