The pagan celebration was of course matched with the Christain holiday. The church found that embrasing and absorbing worked much better. This is also true of Easter. Mithra was the pagan god that was celebrated at the Winter solstice. Ester (how do you like that one?) the goddess of fertility, celebrated in the Spring. As in Easter.

Add me to the hit list. The new millenium party is next year. But on the other hand, if this means I get to have two parties, count me in! <G>

And to answer the quiz, it's two years from 1 BC to the start of 1 AD.

For reference, later in time, Zeno invented the Zero. I admit a conceptual invention, but something we use every day. ;-)