People still feared everything would come crashing down on Jan. 1, 2000 (planes falling from the sky, etc.).
It was almost like thousands of years ago when people feared solar eclipses...
I read that as the year 1,000 AD approached, many then thought the Millenium would arrive. They gave away all their belongings and some burned their houses down to prevent the stay-behinds from profiting. They all went up on a hill with great expectations. By morning, someone said "Oh Crap!".