Even though TV & News Reporters are trying to convince you otherwise ...

The new century and the new millennium will both start in 2001.

You can prove it to yourself by asking, and answering, a few questions.

• What does A.D. stand for?
• What language did that come from?
• What was the official numbering system when Latin was spoken?
• How do you write zero in Roman Numerals?
• What does "anno domini" mean in English?
• How do scholarly people formally read "1492 A.D."?
• What is the ordinal number for zero?
• Based on the above, could there be a year zero?
• Since there was no year zero, what was the first millennium?
• What about the year Jesus was actually born?
• What will you be doing on December 31, 1999?

What does A.D. stand for?

A.D. is the abbreviation for "Anno Domini." Return to Top

What language did that come from?

That is LATIN. That was the language that was still being used by the Catholic Church at the time that the Julian Calendar System was invented. Return to Top

What was the official numbering system when Latin was spoken?

When Latin was spoken as a living language, the Roman Numeral System was the system for counting. If you don't believe that the Roman Numeral System and our calendar don't go together, just look at some old books, old movies, and old buildings.

Old building cornerstones use Roman Numerals to show when the building was built. Old movies usually give the copyright date as a Roman Numeral. Go to your library and ask the librarian to show you some very old books. The copyright date is usually given in Roman Numerals. Return to Top

How do you write zero in Roman Numerals?

You don't. There is no zero in the Roman Numeral system. The letter I is one. V is five; X is 10, L is 50, C is 100, D is 500, M is 1000. The people of ancient Rome did not have a number for zero. Return to Top

What does "anno domini" mean in English?

Anno Domini means, approximately, "in the year of our Lord". Return to Top

How do scholarly people formally read "1492 A.D."?

That would be read aloud as "In the fourteen-hundred ninety-second year of our Lord." Return to Top

What is the ordinal number for zero?

The ordinal numbers are numbers designating the place occupied by an item in an ordered sequence: First, Second, Third, Fourth, etcetera.

There is no ordinal number for zero. Return to Top

Based on the above, could there be a year zero?

Our calendar system is definitely an "ordered sequence." A year is definitely an item in an ordered sequence. Thus, the year number would be an "ordered number" or ordinal number.

There is no zero in the Ordinal Number System

There is no zero in the Roman Numeral System

The first year "Anno Domini," as defined by the monk who invented our calendar, was 1 A.D. Return to Top

Since there was no year zero, what was the first millennium?

The first decade was the years 1 to 10; the second was 11 to 20; third, 21 to 30, etc. Note that the decade ENDS with the year that is ten times the ordinal number of the decade. The two hundredth decade will end with the year 2000.

The first century was the years 1 to 100; the second was 101 to 200; third, 201 to 300, etc. Note tht the century ENDS with the year that is one hundred times the ordinal number of the century. The twentieth century will end with the year 2000.

The first millennium was the years 1 to 1000; the second is 1001 to 2000; the third will be 2001 to 3000. Note that the millennium ENDS with the year that is one thousand times the ordinal number of the millennium. Return to Top

What about the year Jesus was actually born?
Does that prove that there should be a year zero!

Virtually EVERY expert agrees that Jesus was born in the year 4 B.C. at the latest. Roman Historical records prove this. Just look for the date that King Herod died. So, for those people who want to claim that they are actually counting from the date that Jesus was born, I have to laugh. Because that was over 2000 years ago (this statement originally posted in 1999), so counting from the birth of Jesus, the third Millennium probably started around May of 1997.

Some people want to add a year zero to our calendar, just to be able to claim that the year 2000 is the beginning of the millennium, but there never was a year zero. If the inventor didn't want to have a year zero, why should we add it?

The first millennium was years one to one thousand. The current millennium is from 1001 to 2000. The third will start in 2001. Return to Top

What will you be doing on December 31, 1999?

I plan to celebrate the END OF THE 1900's with everyone on December 31, 1999. Then, one year later, when the hotels are more available, I will celebrate the end of the Twentieth Century, and the end of the Second Millennium, on December 31, 2000. Return to Top

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< www.DriverExam.org>
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