If January 1, 2000 was the beginning of the new millennium, then the year 2000 would be the first year of the third millennium, 2001 would be the second year, 2002 would be the third year, etc.; and, now, the year 2007 would be the eighth year of the third millennium. But, this seems kinda silly to have the year 2007, which ends with the number 7, to be the 8th year of the third millennium (and, for that matter, the 8th year of the 21st century). It is also, in my opinion, wrong.

I believe that January 1, 2000 is not the day that introduced us to the start of the third millennium. (I realize that not everyone agrees with me.) In my opinion, the year 2000 is actually the last year of the second millennium and the year 2001 is actually the first year of the new millennium. Why, you may ask, do I believe the year 2001 to be the first year of the new millennium? Let me explain.

Today the Gregorian calendar serves as an international standard for civil use and regulates the religious occasions of the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. This Christian-based calendar evolved from an ecclesiastical purpose where years are counted from an initial epoch. Dionysius Exiguus (c. 470-c. 544), a sixth-century scholar, who was compiling a table of possible dates for Easter, defined this starting point. He adopted the birth of Christ as the initial epoch for the Christian calendar. Therefore, the birth of Christ was established as the starting point of our calendar. There is no zero year in the Gregorian calendar. The year before the birth of Christ (B.C.) was 1 B.C. and the year of the birth of Christ (A.D., or anno Domini) was A.D. 1. There was no 0 B.C. or A.D. 0, and, for that matter, no 0 year at all. The reason why there was no zero year was because Roman numerals possessed no zero. They wrote 10 as “X” and not with a one and a zero. The concept of the zero was unknown in Europe until eight centuries later.

Further, Webster's Dictionary defines millennium as a span of one thousand years. The World Book Encyclopedia includes within the definition of a century as, "The years one through 100 after the birth of Christ are called the first century, from 101 through 200 was the second century." These two definitions can be coupled together to define the first millennium as having occurred from year 1 through the year 1000, the second millennium from year 1001 through year 2000, and the current third millennium beginning the year 2001 and ending with the year 3000. Therefore, according to the United States Naval Observatory, the nation's official timekeeper, the end of the second millennium and the beginning of the third millennium was reached on January 1, 2001.

Historically, however, people in the United States and many other Western countries seem to place more importance on numbers that end with zero than with other numbers. Years ending with 1900, 1950, 1960, 1980, and 2,000, for instance, have been seen as much more important than ones ending with other numbers such as 2001.

So, when thinking about the year 2007 with respect to its place in the twenty-first century and the third millennium, is it the seventh year or the eighth year?

Your decision affects how you count each year thereafter!

• scienceworld.wolfram.com: Gregorian Calendar
• Calendars by L.E. Doggett
• U.S. Naval Observatory, The 21st Century and the 3rd Millennium: When Will They Begin?
• wikipedia.com: Year Zero