In few days we will get the answer. I live my life as normal. All the books and articles about the end of the world, according to the Maya calender, haven`t given me sleepless nights. I still follow my own calender. Now a days I counting down the days to Christmas Eve, and not the 21st December, or whatever the day is when the Maya calender ends.
Authors disagree about what humankind should expect on 21st December 2012, when the Maya's "Long Count" calendar marks the end of a 5,126-year era. Many authors have earned big money by creating fear among people. They speculate about that the Maya have predicted the end of the world in the current year. Some people wonder: will we be able to celebrate Christmas this time? Do we need to buy Christmas presents or it`s just wasted? Shall we cancel the Christmas parties?
So what is the Maya calender?
The Maya calendar is a system of calendars and almanacs used in the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and in some modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala and Oaxaca, Mexico.
The Mayan Prophecies for 2012 - What`s the truth behind the fear?
The Maya practiced most of their religious rites and ceremonies according to astronomical calculations they made based on a complex calendar system that reflected the cyclic movements of stars and planets as well as the sun and moon. They used the calendar to predict future events, such as eclipses and the fortunes of kingdoms.
Famed for the accuracy of their astronomy and the sophistication of their measurement of time, the ancient Mayan civilization has been recognized as one of the most important ever to have existed. According to recently decoded stone monuments and manuscripts the Mayans believed a cataclysmic change will affect the planet on 22nd December 2012.
The most commonly used calendars were the Haab (365 days), the Tzolkin (260 days), and the Long Count (a thousand years that ended around A.D. 900). The Long Count calendar started in 3114 B.C., when the Maya thought time began.
Who where the Maya?
Daniel Pinchbeck writes in his book The Truth Behind the Doomsday Hype in 2012: The Classical Maya developed a highly sophisticated civilization in the Yucatan and Guatemala that vanished 1,000 years ago. They were extraordinary architects and astronomers, and developed methods of timekeeping that are far more precise than our Western calendar system. Although we destroyed most of their scrolls, our archaeologists have discovered that the Maya looked toward the year 2012 – specifically the date December 21, 2012 – as the end of a "Great Cycle" of 5,125 years on their Long Count calendar.
According to the Mayan creation myth, the Popol Vuh, such cycles end with the destruction of the old way of life and the inception of a new world. Many scholars agree that the Classic Maya pointed to this time, around the year 2012, as the juncture between one world age and the next.
Even though I am not concerned at all, it was encouraging reading an article telling that Maya are anti-apocalypse: Maya Calendars Actually Predict That Life Goes On - on National Geograpich`s website (13th December 2012). As the author Catherine Zuckerman writes: "Doomsday? No way. Ancient Maya said we’ll be around another 7,000 years or so".
Doomsday predictions - so what? Would Christmas celebration be cancelled this year?
I look forward to meet my best friends on Friday 21st December 2012. It`s going to be a big party in Oslo in Norway. And be sure: I going to be out for a long time - also included the day after. Then I am ready for celebrating Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas to you all and A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Stein Morten Lund, 16th December 2012
Additional information
Read more about the Maya calender on Wikipedia.
List of dates predicted for apocalyptic events.
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