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A period of 1000 years; Christ's reign on earth at his second coming; future period of great happiness for everyone. What exactly is this? This is the "official" definition of the millennium according to the Oxford and Webster's dictionaries. What we are facing now is the bimillennium (a 2000 year anniversary), better known as the new millennium, or the year 2000. Everyone knows that New Year's Eve, December 31, 1999 will be the biggest party across the world to occur in history. But, does anyone know why this date is so important? What is all the hype about anyway?
It is just another new year, the only difference is that the year 2000 happens to have 3 zeros. However, it is not like that has never happened before. Does anyone remember the year 1000? Better yet, there is still the whole issue of the year 2000 not even being the real 2000th birthday of Christ because the Christians did not include the year 0 between 1 BC and 1 AD. This has thrown the whole counting system off by one year.
During 1992, a special issue of TIME Magazine was released, promoting the new millennium. Governments across the world are getting involved in creating a hype for the year 2000. Since Pope John Paul II was elected he "declared that the year 2000 'will be the year of a great Jubilee'" (as quoted from ftp://hcol.humberc.on.ca/library/internet/t2-faq1.txt). The Canadian government has even formed a Millennium Bureau. Jacquie Manchevsky, an Officer of the Millennium Task Force, believes that the new millennium means a time for all humans not just to celebrate but to reflect on where they have been in their life and where they now want to go and what they want to do. Jacquie knows that the new millennium is not the answer to all of the problems that exist today however, she believes that "it is an opportunity to begin to solve them".
Big candy corporations such as "M&M's" are actually making fun of the hype. Since M is the roman numeral for 1000, MM therefore equals 2000. This has allowed "Red" and "Yellow" "M&M's" to declare themselves the Official Spokescandies of the New Millennium. Matt Di Paola, consultant with Harbinger Communications, believes that "when it comes right down to it the new millennium is a time to celebrate and have fun, besides it won't happen again for another 1000 years". He hopes that we will be able to "earmark our stage in the human process. By measuring time it allows there to be something for people to measure themselves against".
The world is getting old; by this it is believed that the human population is becoming wiser and more experienced, learning from where they have been and changing themselves to suit their environment. Since the new millennium is a time of reflection it is hoped that humankind will see and realize what they have done to the world. As Jacquie Manchevsky stated "It is very likely that the world will end, but it will be because the cause was humans."
In short, all the hype for the millennium is because there has never been a time that everyone in the world was able to celebrate a centennial or millennial year together. The year 2000 is special because it is in no way political, racial, or denominational of any sort. It is a celebration that everyone can be involved in not just a certain group, creed, colour, sex, physicality, or race.
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© 1998 le magazine TG / La Commission des étudiants
tgmag@tgmag.ca