Millennium Mania
On January 1, 2000, we leapt into a new millennium. But what is a millennium? And did we celebrate too soon?
A millennium is hard to imagine. Let’s start smaller. First, we look at a decade. A decade is 10 years. So, once you reach the age of 10, you are a decade old. If you put 10 decades together, you have a century, equal to 100 years. But we still haven’t reached a millennium yet. A millennium is the same as 10 centuries. That is 1,000 years! Try our brain teaser below, if you can!
New contributor Sharon Brewer talked with her daughter, Mary, 9, about the millennium. Mary is not yet a decade old, but she can count and she believes we started our party one year too soon.
Mary says: “I think the calendar started with year 1. So officially it may not be a new millennium until the year 2001. Everyone thought it was a new millennium because the year 2000 makes sense. Actually it has been 2000 years since we’ve started the current calendar, but if we started with the year 1, then 2000 + 1 = 2001!
We can celebrate again next year!
1000AD shares no similarities with our new year. It marked the start of the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages were centuries when life in the Old World made little progress. No new inventions or startling discoveries were made. Outer space was a fantasy.
Kids in the Dark Ages would have found life very difficult. Many people were peasants, poor families who worked for a rich landowner. They were called serfs. They worked hard for their landowner, called a lord. Like slaves, serfs received a small simple house and not much food in return.
This was also the time of the Vikings. Vikings raided and conquered villages all over Europe. It’s possible any child living during this time in Northern Europe could have had a father or brother who was a Viking.
Brain Teaser:
How many decades make a millennium?
What are kids’ lives like in the year 2000AD?
The answer depends on where you live. In many parts of the world, many children today still live like most children did in the year 1000.
Other children — and most children in the U.S. — live in a world few would have imagined. Children talk on cellular telephones while they ride in a car. Everybody walked
or used animals for transportation before the invention of the car.
What about outer space? Americans orbit Earth several times a year. And computers. It’s hard to imagine a life without them. We type papers, draw funny cartoons and play the latest games on these machines. And they can even be used as a television or CD player, with special equipment.
Let’s not forget Pokemon. The last big rage of the 1900s. What did kids do without Pokemon?
What is waiting in the year 3000?
Kids' Calendar
•Flying Creatures
rsvp by Sat. Jan. 8 - Find out more about animals that take flight. Discover the world of raptors and more. Ages 5+. Sat. Jan. 15 (11-11:45am) @ Mt. Hope Community Center, $4: 410/257-6770.
Listen and Snack
Fri. Jan. 7 (10am) - Listen to Mr. Potato Head Makes His Lunch and Two For Stew. Color a placemat for your yummy snack afterwards. Barnes & Noble, Harbour Center,
Annapolis: 410/573-1115.
Cold Drawings
Tues. Jan. 11 (10am) - Hear the cold words of Ezra Jack Keats’ The Snowy Day. Then make your own winter scenes. Barnes & Noble, Harbour Center, Annapolis: 410/573-1115.
Winter Fun
Sun. Jan. 9 (1pm) - How do the animals survive the cold? Explore the woods and ponds for signs of life. Kinder Farm Park, Millersville: 410/222-6115.
Pokemon Pleasures
Jan. 8 & 9 (2pm) - Play Pokemon and enjoy other fun. Get a free Mew card and create your own Pokemon character. Ages 4+. Zany Brainy, Harbour Center, Annapolis: 410/266-1447.
Season Celebration
Tues. Jan 11 (9:30am for 2-year-olds; 10:30 for 3-6)- Join in fingerplay and song. Hear seasonal stories. Make a snowman puppet and create snowy crafts. Anne Arundel Library, Annapolis Branch, West St.: 410/222-1750.
Storytime Arrives
Begins Jan 10 - Register now for storytime at Calvert County public libraries. You can listen to stories, do hand rhymes, sing songs and more. Ages 0-5years. For times and age groups, contact your local branch.
Winter Sleepers
Wed. Jan. 12 (10-10:30am) - Some animals sleep thru winter or move south to avoid the cold. Find out more about these seasonal slumberers. Battle Creek Cypress Swamp, Port Republic. Ages 2-3. 410/535-5327.
Copyright 2000
New Bay Times Weekly
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