2007

“Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”  (Proverbs 27:1)

None of us knows what it will bring forth, but we are at the threshold of 2007.  Since I’ve been old enough to understand calendars and time, it’s something that’s always fascinated me.  As a preschooler, I remember asking my mother, “What comes after nineteen-fifty-nine...nineteen-fifty-TEN??!!”  At that age it was hard for me to comprehend why the answer was 1960, and in fact, why all years started with “nineteen”.  I still have trouble with that!  I almost want to call this year “nineteen-two-thousand and six” and next year “nineteen-two-thousand and seven”!  For me, it’s almost automatic that years start with “nineteen”, though of course, they all DON’T.

I do know that the accuracy of the calendar is OFF.  In fact, Jesus was born somewhere between 4-6 B.C. so our year really should be something like 2011.   A number of decades ago (centuries, perhaps) scholars realized the year is actually wrong, but for obvious reasons, they just left it alone.  Of course, even whether to use B.C. and A.D. is controversial.  Jehovah’s Witnesses, “secular progressives” (as Bill O’Reilley calls them), and many Jewish people use B.C.E. and C.E. instead.  For the uninformed, that’s “Common Era” and “Before Common Era”.  I still prefer B.C. and A.D. but admittedly the fact that I’m a very orthodox Christian has a lot to do with that.

I know the Jewish New Year is in the Fall.  I think that makes a lot more sense.  In fact, I think years should run from September to August.  In our hearts, we really think of it that way, anyway. The school year begins around September 1.  Most new car models come out in September.  The new television season starts in September.

In fact, speaking of cars, something I read a few years ago is that the year designation of cars, as in “1999 Ford Tarurus”, or “2006 Toyota Camry” goes by JANUARY 1.  When  a car is designated a 1999 or a 2007 or whatever year, it means that car was the newest and latest model on January 1 of that year.  So in fact, if you have a 2000 Dodge Caravan, you REALLY have a January 1, 2000 Dodge Caravan.  After January 1, car companies are free to introduce the NEXT year’s models.  Thus, any car company COULD introduce a 2008 model on January 2, 2007, although on average, the next year’s cars are introduced around September.

Are you all falling asleep?  Well, be careful of that!  You’ll want to be  wide awake to “see the new year in” on Sunday night!