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*But back to those implications we mentioned above: will the years of the 22nd century really all start with 21? It depends on who you ask. Some people think the 22nd century will start January 1, 2100 and end December 31, 2199, with the 23rd century beginning on January 1, 2200.
It began on 1 January 2001 and will end on 31 December 2100. It is the first century of the 3rd millennium . The rise of a global economy and Third World consumerism marked the beginning of the century, along with increased private enterprise and deepening concern over terrorism after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
People also ask
When did the 21st century start?
When does the 21st century start & end?
Are We living in the 21st century or 20th century?
Why are we in the 21st century?
- How long has our calendar been around?
- B.C. or B.C.E.?
- Circa?
- Why 2012 is in the 21st Century
We are writing this on 12/26/12 or Wednesday, December 26, 2012. Traditionally understood as two-thousand and twelve years (give or take a few) after Jesus Christ is believed to have been born. But if Jesus used a calendar, it would not have been the one we use.
Our calendar is called the Gregorian calendar and was instituted by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. There are many other calendars. Quite a few societies have used calendars linked to the years their kings ruled. And there are numerous calendars, beyond the Gregorian calendar, that are still in use today. For example, 2012 equates to 1434/35 in the Islamic calendar and 5772-73 in the Jewish calendar (both are lunar, based on the cycles of the moon).
Many people use the abbreviations B.C. and A.D. with a year (for example, A.D. 2012). B.C. refers to "Before Christ," and the initials, A.D., stand for Anno Domini, which is Latin for "In the year of our Lord." This system was devised by a monk in the year 525.
A more recent system uses B.C.E. which stands for "Before the Common Era" and C.E. for "Common Era." This newer system is now widely used as a way of expressing the same periods as B.C. and A.D., but without the Christian reference. According to this system, we count time backwards Before the Common Era (B.C.E.) and forwards in the Common Era (C.E.).
Often dates will be preceded with a "c." or a "ca." These are abbreviations of the Latin word "circa" which means around, or approximately. We use this before a date to indicate that we do not know exactly when something happened, so c. 400 B.C.E. means approximately 400 years Before the Common Era.
We live in the 21st Century, that is, the 2000s. Similarly when we say "20th Century," we are referring to the 1900s. All this because, according to the calendar we use, the 1st Century included the years 1-100 (there was no year zero), and the 2nd Century, the years 101-200. Similarly, when we say 2nd Century B.C.E. we are referring to the years 200-101 B.C.E.
Within our calendar, we also have a tendency to find portentous meaning in the millennial years, that is, in the years 1000 and more recently, 2000.
When did the 3rd millennium and 21st century begin: on New Year's Day 2000 or 2001? Do we count from year 1 or year 0 AD? What century are we in?
21st Century: 2001 to 2100. 20th Century: 1901 to 2000. 19th Century: 1800 to 1900. 18th Century: 1701 to 1800. 17th Century: 1601 to 1700. 16th Century: 1501 to 1600. 15th Century: 1401 to 1500. 14th Century: 1301 to 1400. 13th Century: 1201 to 1300. 12th Century: 1101 to 1200. 11th Century: 1001 to 1100. 10th Century- 901 to 1000.
A century is defined as a 100 year period. Currently, we are in the 21st century, meaning we are in the years beginning with 2000. It is a bit confusing in terms of understanding the...
Although the 21 st century officially began in the year 2001, many historians believe that the story of the 21 st century begins with the pulling down of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in the early 1990s. For 40 years, the world had been pulled in opposite directions by the two super-powers, the United States and the Soviet Union ...
