by
Stoney
n the 31st of December, 1999 people all around the world celebrated as they had never celebrated before. There were celebrating the dawning of a new era. The dawning of a new millennium.
The word "millennium" means one thousand years. People were celebrating two thousand years since the birth of Christ. Jesus' two thousandth birthday is next year though. Everybody really celebrated the changing of four digits. From 1999 to 2000. Different countries celebrated the time change at different times: at midnight but in different time zones. The island to celebrated the millennium was the tiny island of Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean. The citizens celebrated the millennium with dancing: no Dome, no wheel, none of the luxuries other countries had, but they still had just as much fun as anybody else.
In Sydney, the first time zone of Australia to celebrated the year 2000, the Australians gathered in the harbour and around the Opera House. At midnight the whole city was lit up in a sea of fire, as fireworks, centred around the Harbour Bridge, awed everybody who watched it.In New York, five hours behind Greenwich Mean Time, the Americans celebrated many time. They celebrated the millennium every time another time zone did. When it finally came to midnight, a huge ball of gas, as silver and as twinkling as a star, was lowered into Times Square for the last time of an old millennium. In London, the main celebrations were centred around the Millennium Dome, on the Greenwich Meridian. Here at midnight, the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prime- Minister joined hands to sing "Auld Lang Syne." The Millennium Eye, a huge Ferris wheel and a River of Fire along the Thames failed to work, but the entertainment in the Dome kept everybody occupied. Around the country people lit a special Millennium Candle while reciting the Millennium Resolution.
I personally spent new years Eve at a party. There were so many parties going on people were split for choice. At eleven o'clock we came back to our house and had fireworks in the garden. We then sat outside and at midnight watched the other fireworks on the horizon. These continued until about one o'clock.
In all, I'd say the millennium was enjoyed by all. All the fears about the Millennium Bug were unfounded as no-one around the country seemed to have been bitten by it. I think the Millennium Dome wasn't worthwhile as it will only last for a year. The money could have been spent on cancelling debt or building shelter for the homeless because the effect from that would last another thousand years.
I hope you enjoyed the millennium, and this essay. Thanx for reading
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