Behind the Headlines

In doing some research on seasons, time of year, etc. I came across the news that today marks the new millennium for Ethiopia, a country that operates on the Coptic calendar, rather than the Gregorian one most of the world uses.
According to The Independent out of England:
“In the Millennium Bazaar, a series of market stalls just behind Meskel Square in the centre of Addis Ababa, everything is stamped “2000″. From plastic bowls and key rings to packets of crisps and vases of plastic flowers, all are marketed as millennium specials.
“Elsewhere in the world today it is 11 September 2007.”
The government was trying to hype up the event, and was anticipating 300,000 visitors. They encouraged those returning to Ethiopia to stay with families so additional hotel rooms were available for tourists. Estimates place the influx at 25,000 and some of the events had to be canceled because of terrorist threats.
I know they’re not the only country to use a different calendar, and it’s not unusual for religions to be operating on different time frames, but I had no idea that it was still 1999 anywhere in the world. Ah such an innocent time - remember Y2K chaos?