Why is there so much fuss (rozruch) about the millennium? It must be in the magic of the number itself. People seem (zdát se) to like „round figures“ (kulaté cifry) and „round anniversaries“ (kulatá výročí) which they consider (považují) to be certain (jisté) milestones (milníky) in lives or in history of mankind (lidstvo).

However (jakoli), next year will be 2000 only according (podle) to the Gregorian calendar; the Jews (židé), for example are now in 5760 and the Islamic era started when the Christian world was in the year 622. There are also people, especially historians, who state that the new millenium will actually start on January 1st, 2001.

Millions of people world-wide are getting ready for the „big party“. There will be celebrations in all the usual places. There are also more exotic places and more unusual ways of spending the turn of the millennium. Those who want to experience (zkušenost) something extraordinary (mimořádný) and don´t mind bitterly (hořce) cold weather can head north to Lapland. There they will be given a warm welcome in the Ice Hotel where almost everything is made of ice, including beds, and the inside temperatute is as low as –8 °C.

For lovers of warmth, there are Pacific Islands such (takový) as Kiribati of Fiji which are competing (způsobilý) for millennium primacy (prvenství), which place will be the first in the world to meet the year 2000.

Or you can celebrate the new millennium many times. That is possible (možný) on board the Concorde, a supersonic plane, which will fly round the Earth coverning (obal) all 24 time zones while the passengers pop (bouchnout) champange corks every hour to meet the year 2000 each time in a different part of the worl.

You can also just stay at home and see the old millennium out in the circle of your family and friends and forget about all the fuss.