As the year 2000 nears, Iowa State professors are discussing when the 21st century begins in terms of history and religion.

George McJimsey, professor and chair of history, said 2001 is the first year of the new millennium.

“There’s no year zero on the Christian calendar,” he said. “[To complete the old millennium] you have to go through the ’00 year.”

A lot of people will be celebrating the millennium on the wrong year, he said.

“They don’t know the difference,” he said. “Plus I think they’re celebrating it just because of the change in the number, from ’99 to ’00.”

McJimsey said even though the millennium will not start until 2001, he would not turn down an opportunity to celebrate it in 2000.

“I think I’d probably go to two millennium parties; I could go to the fake one and the real one,” he said.

Achilles Avraamides, professor of classical history, said although centuries and millenniums begin in years ending with ’01, “generally, people have not been following this principle.”

“Everybody’s determined to see the 21st century start sooner,” he said.

Avraamides said he does not think it is important which year people celebrate the new millennium.

“The decision that the new millennium starts … is just for record keeping, not anything else,” he said.

He said there is no year zero because of the way in which Jesus’ year of birth was calculated.

“These were not very well-trained individuals in terms of what they were doing,” he said. “A monk started calculating it in around 600. This is not a scientifically-cultivated chronology.”

The monk erred in his estimations, Avraamides said: Jesus more likely was born 3 to 5 B.C.

Elaine McDuff, temporary assistant professor of religious studies, also said she does not think the change of millennium is very important.

“Some people think it’s very important, but then once you think about what it’s based on, you realize how arbitrary it is,” she said.

McDuff said the new millennium is not approaching on the calendars of some religions.

“The whole idea of the millennium is based on the Gregorian calendar which itself has problems,” she said. “The whole system of years which we have set up, which is based on the birth of Jesus, doesn’t really have any meaning outside of the Christian interest. [This is not] year 1999 in the Jewish calendar or the Muslim calendar. I think that kind of puts it into perspective.”