OK,  here's one more non-mathematician giving it a shot.  Of course there
was no year zero.  When you are born you are not considered to be zero years
old, more importantly, nor are you in your 0th year.  You may only be a few
minutes old, but you are still in your 1st year of life.  I'm not exactly a
religious type but don't any of you historians out there remember the term
"In the year of our Lord...", which (I believe)meant that it was the ----th
year of the existience of Christ as Saviour, thus the term Anno Domini or
A.D. (after Christ).  Therefore, the first year of Christ's life is
considered to be 1 A.D. (although historians argue over whether the dating
is correct.). The first decade ended at the end of 10 A.D.; the first
Century ended at the end of 100 A.D. and the first millenium at the end of
1000 A.D.; and the second Millenium will end on Dec. 31, 2000 A.D.

Bill Lazenby

>
>>i think really the larger question ought be the 21st century beginning date
>>naught an ought or two.  if i had an opening in the 21st century i've been
>told the date has to be on or after january 1, 2001 naught january 1, 2000.
>>personally i feel january 1, 2000 would be the first day of the 21st
>>century.  any mathematicians out there care to explain?
>>
>>rick denhart
>
>I'm not a mathematician, but it's my understanding that the count started
>from one, not zero (the concept of zero came along later in the West).  This
>would be comparable to our being 1 year old at birth and being 2 years old
>on our first birthday anniversary.  Thus 2,000 years will not be completed
>until midnight, 31 Dec 2000, and the new millenium will then start as the
>year rolls over to 1 Jan 2001.
>Arthur H. Harris

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