The New Decade Doesn't Start January 1, 2020

I know everyone has been talking about the beginning of the new decade on New Years Day 2020. It's exciting, it's refreshing, it's worth celebrating, it's a new beginning...and it's also wrong.

I know to some this will sound like one of those, "well, you're technically right..." kinda nerd facts, but it's not just technically right—it's right.

According to The Farmers Almanac the new decade officially begins January 1, 2021. Here's reason why, decades begin on years ending in the number 1, like 2001 and end on years that end in 0, like 2010.

The easiest way to think about it comes from an article in The Farmers Almanac. It's called the Elevator Analogy and I think it describes it pretty well.

The Elevator Analogy
As an analogy, think of going into a building in which the ground floor is listed not as the first floor, but as the lobby. So the first floor is actually one flight above you.
So if you were to go into an elevator located in the lobby and wanted to go 10-flights up, you would actually end up on the ninth floor (if you were to assume that the lobby as the “zero” floor).
But if you assume the lobby as the “first” floor and went 10-flights up, you would end up on the tenth floor.
In essence, on our calendars, 2021 is the equivalent of a “first-floor lobby,” and after going up ten flights (or years), we’ll arrive at the tenth floor. Or in this case, the year 2030—when that decade ends.

So use this info, or don't. I can tell you that if you're at a New Years Eve party and you're correcting everyone about "the beginning of a new decade" you're going to annoy everyone.....you're not going to get a kiss at Midnight and you might even get a drink poured on your head. You've been warned.