Turn of the Century

* On Jan. 1 of the last year of the 19th century, The Times’ editorial began: “Upon this, the first morning which has dawned in the last year of the nineteenth century.” On Jan. 1, 1999, The Times’ editorial began: “The last year of the millennium is at hand.” The strange thing about this is that, despite the fact that I think we can all agree that a century contains 100 years, these two editorials were separated by only 99 years, since The Times correctly marked the last year of the 19th century on Jan. 1, 1900, not Jan. 1, 1899. It was not until Jan. 1, 1901, that The Times bore the headline “In a New Century.”

In the 6th century, Pope John I asked an obscure monk named Dionysius Exiguus (Dennis the Short) to prepare a chronology. Dionysius began his count on what he reckoned to be the date of Christ’s circumcision, and he gave that event the date of Jan. 1, AD 1. The previous year was named the year 1 BC. There was and is no year 0: The first year was 1, and the last year of that century was 100. Since that time, every decade, every century, and every millennium has ended with a year ending in the number 0 (like 2000). Every decade, every century and every millennium has begun with a year ending in the number 1 (like 2001).

The 20th century was, all in all, a pretty rotten one, but still, it deserves its full 100 years.

JOHN HAMILTON SCOTT

Sherman Oaks

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J. Devereaux Leahy (letter, Dec. 31) and also the late Jack Smith (a dear, dear man) are/were mistaken about the “length” of a year, a decade, a century. They skip over the zero year and don’t count its 365 days. Think of the “age” of a year as being just the same as the age of a baby. After 365 days of the 0 year, they both earn a “1” and start on their second year of life. Why are the years 100 through 199 called the 2nd century and not the 1st century (they’re numbered with “1”)? Saying “the decade of the 1930s” would be awkward, using incorrectly the years 1931 through 1940, because one would need to say “the decade of the 1930s and the year 1940.” The dictionary says a decade is 10 years, beginning with a year whose last digit is 0. We don’t say we’re starting on the 20th century even though the first year of our new century is 2000. The “0” century puts the number of the century down as 21st, for the 2000-through-2099 years.

TROXEY KEMPER

Los Angeles

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If indeed our process for numbering years derives from a particular religion’s specific event, then, considering the separation of church and state, if cities shouldn’t erect nativity scenes at Christmas, how can they spend money on Y2K celebrations?

JOHN R. HARRIS

Huntington Beach

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The Y2K scare is merely a way for the computer nut to compete with the religious nut in trying to predict the end of the world.

CHRISTOPHER YANOV

San Diego