When Does the New Millennium Begin?

Posted on December 29, 1998

As society barrels toward the third millennium, a new debate is stirring... when does the new millennium actually begin? Responses to a survey posted at the Countdown 2000 website show a clear divide in opinion. Of the more than 13,000 responses, 37% say the new millennium begins on January 1, 2000, while 41% say January 1, 2001.

The source of the calendrical puzzle can be traced back to the sixth century when Pope John I commissioned a monk named Dionysius Exiguus ("Dennis the Short") to change the Roman Calendar to a new calendar based upon the birth of Christ. Dennis devised the current B.C./A.D. framework, but since there was no "zero" in the Roman numbering system, Dennis followed B.C. 1 with A.D. 1.

Since the first millennium began with the year one, rather than with the year zero, each subsequent millennium also begins with the year one. Accordingly, 1001 A.D. marked the first year of the second millennium and 2001 A.D. will mark the first year of the third millennium. In other words, we will have completed the second millennium only after we complete 2000 years on December 31, 2000.

But party-goers, marketers and the media don't seem to care too much for this logic. The thrill of seeing all those "9s" turn to "0s" seems to be all that matters. Indeed, even computer programmers call the Y2K computer problem the "millennium bug," despite the fact that it strikes at 01/01/2000. In short, the millennium hubbub continues to focus on the 1999/2000 rollover.