Millennium

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A millennium is a period of time, literally equal to one thousand years. The term may implicitly refer to calendar millennia; periods tied numerically to a particular dating system, specifically ones that begin at the starting (initial reference) point of the calendar in question (typically the year 0 or the year 1) or in later years which are whole number multiples of a thousand years after it. This concept is the one primairly discussed in this article.

Related Topics:
Time - Year - Dating system

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The term can also refer to an interval of time beginning on any date. Frequently in the latter case (and sometimes also in the former) it may have religious or theological implications (see Millenarianism). Especially in religious usage such an interval may be interpreted less precisely, being not necessarily exactly 1,000 years long.

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In the common Western calandar, which lacks a year numbered zero and begins instead with the year 1, there are two main viewpoints about naming millennia. There was a popular debate leading up to the celebrations of the year 2000 as to whether 2000 was the beginning of a new millennium. Historically, there has been debate around the turn of previous decades, centuries, and millennia.

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