Dec 20, 2012

‘Mayan apocalypse’ preparations are under way

Michael Gold 7 Comments World apocalypse, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Maya religion, Mayans, Mexico, preppers, Turkey, Ukraine, Utah

57 photos

Apparently, Doomsday is upon us.

For some time, grim prophesiers have pointed to Dec. 21, 2012, as the date of the apocalypse predicted by the Mayan calendar. Already spread by some Western scholars, the rumors have only increased in number (aided by the Internet) since the last end-of-the-world scare fizzled out on January 1, 2000.

The particular date – Friday, for those without a calendar present – comes from the Maya belief that the gods created three previous worlds before placing humanity on a fourth. The previous three were believed to have lasted for only 13 baktun (a baktun is a period of 144,000 days) cycles, totaling roughly 5,125 years. According to the ancient Maya Long Count Calendar, the end of this world’s 13th baktun is Friday, leading some to extrapolate that the termination of this cycle will bring the end of days.

That’s not how indigenous Mayans see it. Across Central and South America, indigenous experts and descendants of the Maya are brushing off the doomsday theory. Instead, they say the end of the current baktun marks the beginning of a new Mayan calendar era – much like we restart the year at the end of December. Still, that hasn’t stopped those in other parts of the world from preparing for potential doom.

: A Mayan shaman blows a seashell during a ceremony in Aguilares, El Salvador, for a celebration of the upcoming end of the Mayan calendar cycle. The conclusion of the 5,125-year Mayan Long Count calendar has been interpreted by some as the beginning of a new Mayan era, and by others as a portent of the apocalypse. (Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images)

: A Mayan shamans performs a ceremony in Aguilares, El Salvador, for a celebration of the upcoming end of the Mayan calendar cycle on December 21. The conclusion of the 5,125-year Mayan Long Count calendar has been interpreted by some as the beginning of a new Mayan era, and by others as a portent of the apocalypse. (Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images)

: A man performs a fire dance during a recreation of an ancient Mayan ball game between Ch’orti Maya and Guatemala’s Quirigua in Copan Ruinas, some 400 kilometers west of the Honduran capital of Teguicigalpas. The recreation of an ancient Mayan ball game is part of celebrations that will finish on December 21, when the current Mayan Long Count Calendar cycle comes to an end and a new era begins. According to historians, the Mayan ball game was a form of ritual, where the loser was sacrificed. (Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images)

: A Mayan shaman performs a purification ritual during the recreation of an ancient Maya ball game played by Ch’orti Maya and Guatemala’s Quirigua in Copan Ruinas, some 400 kilometers west of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa. The game is part of celebrations that will finish on December 21, when the current Mayan Long Count Calendar cycle comes to an end and a new era begins. According to historians, the Mayan ball game was a form of ritual, where the loser was sacrificed. (Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images)

: Hondura’s Ch’orti Maya and Guatemala’s Quirigua vie for the ball in Copan Ruinas, some 400 kilometers west of the Honduran capital of Teguicigalpas. The recreation of an ancient Mayan ball game is part of celebrations that will finish on December 21, when the current Mayan Long Count Calendar cycle comes to an end and a new era begins. According to historians, the Mayan ball game was a form of ritual, where the loser was sacrificed. (Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images)

: A Ch’orti Maya player celebrates after beating Guatemala’s Quirigua, 6-5, in the ancient Mayan ball game held in Copan Ruinas, some 400 kilometers west of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa. The game is part of celebrations that will finish on December 21, when the current Mayan Long Count Calendar cycle comes to an end and a new era begins. According to historians, the Mayan ball game was a form of ritual, where the loser was sacrificed. (Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images)

: An activist of the Ukrainian Internet Party, wearing a stormtrooper outfit from the Star Wars saga, distributes goods in Independence Square in Kiev on December 20. The party activists, who traditionally wear Star Wars costumes during their actions, distributed canned foods, matches, condoms, toilet paper, soap, lightbulbs and “tickets” for their spacecraft evacuation that will supposedly save Ukrainians from the end of the world on December 21. The date marks the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar, which lasted over 5,000 years. Some believe the date, which coincides with the December solstice, marks the end of the world as foretold by Mayan hieroglyphs — an idea ridiculed by scholars. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images)

: A leader of the Ukrainian Internet Party, wearing a Darth Vader outfit from the Star Wars saga, and a fellow activist distribute goods in Independence Square in Kiev. The party activists, who traditionally wear Star Wars costumes during their actions, distributed canned foods, matches, condoms, toilet paper, soap, lightbulbs and “tickets” for their spacecraft evacuation that will supposedly save Ukrainians from the end of the world on December 21. The date marks the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar, which lasted over 5,000 years. Some believe the date, which coincides with the December solstice, marks the end of the world as foretold by Mayan hieroglyphs — an idea ridiculed by scholars. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images)

: A tourist visits the archaeological site of the Maya civilization of Copan two days before the end of a Mayan calendar cycle. The cycle’s end on December 21 has been likened by different groups to the apocalypse, the start of a new, more spiritual age or a good reason to hang out at old Maya temples across Mexico and Central America. (Jorge Cabrera/Reuters)

: A Mexican man wears a pre-Hispanic Mayan ballplayer costume in a recreation during preparations for the celebration of the end of the Maya Long Count Calendar. (Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images)

: A sign reading “The end of the world is here” advertises a restaurant in Bugarach, the small French village in the foothills of the Pyrenees that some claim to be one of the few places on Earth that will be spared when the world ends on December 21, 2012. Miviludes, the French government’s dedicated sect watchdog, are investigating the likelihood of apocalyptic sect activity or ritualized suicides due to the rumored prophecy of the ancient Mayan calendar. (Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images)

: Journalists’ film the 1,231 meter high peak of Bugarach – which some believe to be one of the few places on Earth that will be spared when the world allegedly ends on the purported Mayan apocalypse. French authorities have pleaded with New Age fanatics, sightseers and media crews not to converage on the tiny village as Dec. 21, the date the Mayans supposedly predicted the end of the world, approaches. (Eric Cabanis/AFP/Getty Images)

: Backpackers arrive in Bugarach, a small French village in the foothills of the Pyrenees that some claim to be one of the few places on Earth that will be spared when the world ends on December 21, 2012. Miviludes, the French government’s dedicated sect watchdog, are investigating the likelihood of apocalyptic sect activity or ritualized suicides due to the rumored prophecy of the ancient Mayan calendar. (Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images)

: Honduran Ch’orti, of Mayan descent, celebrate a point during a Mayan ball game against Guatemalan Quirigua in Copan, Guatemala. The game was held to celebrate the end of an era in the Maya Long Count Calendar, which takes place on December 21. The date has been likened by different groups to the end of days, the start of a new, more spiritual age, or a good reason to hang out at old Maya temples across Mexico and Central America. (Jorge Cabrera/Reuters)

: A Mexican Totonaca native performs the ritual dance of “Los Voladores” (The Flyers) at Tulum archaeological park, 130 kilometers south of Cancun, Mexico. Mexico is one of five countries preparing to celebrate on December 21, the end of the Maya Long Count Calendar. (Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images)

: A tourist walks past a Mayan temple at the Tikal archaeological site, located 560 kilometers north of Guatemala City. Ceremonies will be held at the Tikal site to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Baktun 13 and the beginning of a new Mayan era. (Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images)

: Bottles of wine with labels reading ‘the end of the world’ are on sale in Sirince, a small village in western Turkey. Believers in doomsday predictions are flocking to Sirinice, which some believe is the only safe haven from the rumored Mayan-predicted apocalypse since the Virgin Mary is said to have risen to heaven from there. (Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images)

: A tourist looks at products on sale on the streets of Sirince, a small village in western Turkey on December 20, 2012. Believers in doomsday predictions are flocking to Sirinice, which some believe is the only safe haven from the rumored Mayan-predicted apocalypse since the Virgin Mary is said to have risen to heaven from there. (Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images)

: Pieter van der Meer poses in his Norwegian lifeboat, parked in his garden in Kootwijkerbroek, Netherlands. The lifeboat can save 35 persons in the event of a global apocalypse on December 21, which marks the end of an era that lasted over 5,000 years, according to the Mayan “Long Count” calendar. Some believe that the date, which coincides with the December solstice, marks the end of the world as foretold by Mayan hieroglyphs — an idea ridiculed by scholars. (Robin van Lonkhuijsen/AFP/Getty Images)

: Mayan shamans perform a ceremony in Aguilares, El Salvador, for the celebration for the upcoming end of the Mayan calendar cycle known as Baktun 13 on December 21. (Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images)

: Tourists are seen in front of the “Gran Jaguar” Mayan temple at the Tikal archaeological site, located 560 kilometers north of Guatemala City. Ceremonies will be held at the Tikal site to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Baktun 13 and the beginning of a new Mayan era. (Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images)

: A man takes part in a traditional spiritual ceremony during the Mayan Culture Festival in Merida, Mexico on December 15, 2012. According to organizers, the aim of the festival is to honor Mayan culture and to promote intercultural dialogue, in addition to helping the public better understand the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar, which expires on December 21. Many have predicted the end of the world based on the end of the calendar. (Francisco Martin/Reuters)

: Mayan shamans perform a purification ritual in Guatemala City during celebrations for the December 21 end of the Maya cycle known as the 13th baktun. While some predict the end of the 13th baktun will coincide with the apocalypse, others say the date marks the beginning of a new Maya era. (Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images)

: A Mayan shaman performs a purification ritual in Guatemala City during celebrations for the December 21 end of the Maya cycle known as the 13th baktun, which marks the start of a new Maya era. (Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images)

: Mayan shamans perform a purification ritual in Guatemala City during celebrations for the December 21 end of the Maya cycle known as the 13th baktun. While some predict the end of the 13th baktun will coincide with the apocalypse, others say the date marks the beginning of a new Maya era. (Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images)

: Bolivian President Evo Morales (left) and foreign ministerr David Choquehuanca eat a bowl of fish soup at the Tunupa ship in Lake Titicaca on December 16, 2012. The day was the first of six days of celebration to commemorate the end of the Mayan Calendar on December 21, which some believe to be the end of the world, but which indigenous Bolivians regard as the change of an era. (Gaston Brito/Reuters)

: Bolivian President Evo Morales receives the sacred fire during a ceremony at Intja island, 46 miles away from Bolivia’s capital city of La Paz, on December 16, 2012. The ceremony took place on the first of six days of celebrations to commemorate the end of the Mayan Calendar on December 21, which some believe to be the end of the world, but which indigenous Bolivians regard as the change of an era. (Gaston Brito/Reuters)

: Mayan leaders take part in a ritual at Bacuranao beach in eastern Havana, Cuba, on Dec. 6, 2012. Mayan leaders were in Cuba for a conference, delivering speeches and conducting ceremonies to prepare for the beginning of a new era. (Alberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images)

: Mayan leaders take part in a ritual at Bacuranao beach in eastern Havana, Cuba, on Dec. 6, 2012. Mayan leaders were in Cuba for a conference, delivering speeches and conducting ceremonies to prepare for the beginning of a new era. (Alberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images)

: Cubans participate in a Mayan ritual at Bacuranao beach in eastern Havana, Cuba, on Dec. 6, 2012. Mayan leaders were in Cuba for a conference, delivering speeches and conducting ceremonies to prepare for the beginning of a new era. (Alberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images)

: The Uritorco hill, pictured here from near Capilla del Monte, in Cordoba, Argentina, was chosen by some as the site of a “spiritual suicide” on December 21, 2012, the end of the current cycle on the Mayan Long Count calendar. After an appeal on Facebook for people to climb the hill on that date and commit a mass suicide, authorities plan to shut down access to the Uritorco from December 20 to 22. (Mariela Atia/AFP/Getty Images)

: Maya priest Idelfonso Ake Coccom, of the Council of Elders and Mayan priests, makes an offering to the sun on Dec. 17, 2012, during the last Maya wedding before the end of the 13th baktun cycle and the Long Count Calendar. The 13th baktun is slated to end on Dec. 21, 2012, leading some to predict the end of the world. (Luis Perez/AFP/Getty Images)

: Maya priest Idelfonso Ake Coccom, of the Council of Elders and Mayan priests, conducts the wedding ceremony of Luz Carmen Gonzalez, left, and Jesus Chacon during the last Maya wedding before the end of the 13th baktun cycle and the Long Count Calendar. The 13th baktun is slated to end on Dec. 21, 2012, leading some to predict the end of the world. (Luis Perez/AFP/Getty Images)

: The Dhuni, or holy fire, burns at the Bhole Baba spiritual center in Cisternino, Italy. Cisternino is one of the few places on earth believed to be spared when the world ends, which some interpretations of the ancient Mayan calendar predict to be on December 21, 2012. (Guiseppe/Cacace/AFP/Getty Images)

: Maya priests hold a water blessing ceremony at the Noc Ac cenote (a natural deep deposit of water) in the town of the same name in Mexico, on December 15, 2012. The ceremony was part of a Mayan culture festival held, according to organizers, to honor Mayan culture and to promote intercultural dialogue. An additional goal was to help the public better understand the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar, which many have interpreted to be a Mayan prediction of the apocalypse. (Francisco Martin/Reuters)

: Men take part in a traditional spiritual ceremony of the “Blessing of Water” in the Kambul cenote during the Mayan Culture Festival in Merida, Mexico, on December 15, 2012. December 15, 2012. According to organizers, the aim of the festival is to honor Mayan culture and to promote intercultural dialogue, in addition to helping the public better understand the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar, which expires on December 21. Many have interpreted the end of the calendar to be a Mayan prediction of the apocalypse. (Francisco Martin/Reuters)

: Mike Porenta prepares to ship emergency camp stoves at The American Preppers Network’s warehouse in Sandy, Utah. While most preppers discount the Mayan calendar doomsday prophecy, many are still getting ready for potential catastrophes as the end of the year approaches. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

: Hugh Vail inventories his food storage at his home in Bountiful, Utah, on December 10, 2012. Vail is part of the “prepper” movement, a group of people actively preparing for emergencies. While most preppers discount the Mayan calendar doomsday prophecy, many are still getting ready for potential catastrophes as the end of the year approaches. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

: Phil Burns demonstrates the air purifying SCape Mask at his home in American Fork, Utah, on December 14, 2012. Burns is part of the “prepper” movement, a group of people actively preparing for emergencies. While most preppers discount the Mayan calendar doomsday prophecy, many are still getting ready for potential catastrophes as the end of the year approaches. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

: Hugh Vail cuts firewood at his home in Bountiful, Utah, on December 10, 2012. Vail is part of the “prepper” movement, a group of people actively preparing for emergencies. While most preppers discount the Mayan calendar doomsday prophecy, many are still getting ready for potential catastrophes as the end of the year approaches. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

: Phil Burns inventories some of the gear in a backpack full of survival supplies at his home in American Fork, Utah, on December 14, 2012. Burns is part of the “prepper” movement, a group of people actively preparing for emergencies. While most preppers discount the Mayan calendar doomsday prophecy, many are still getting ready for potential catastrophes as the end of the year approaches. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

: Nobel Peace laureate Rigoberta Menchu, right, and Inocencio Higuera, the director of the Yucatan Investigation Center, take part in a conference in Merida, Mexico, on the life of the current Mayas. The conference was held in part to discuss the relationship current Mayans have with the Maya Long Count Calendar, which says a new era will begin on Dec. 21, 2012. (Luis Perez/AFP/Getty Images)

: Freeze dried meals, which are a staple of preppers, fill the racks at Grandma’s Country Foods in Sandy, Utah. Preppers, a group of people actively preparing for serious threats, mostly discount the Mayan calendar doomsday prophecy. Still, many are getting ready for potential catastrophes as the end of the year approaches. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

: Freeze dried meals, which are a staple of preppers, fill the racks at Grandma’s Country Foods in Sandy, Utah. Preppers, a group of people actively preparing for serious threats, mostly discount the Mayan calendar doomsday prophecy. Still, many are getting ready for potential catastrophes as the end of the year approaches. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

: Paul Seyfried climbs into a bunker he is constructing for a client at Utah Shelter Systems in North Salt Lake, Utah, on December 12, 2012. The price of the shelters range from $51,800 to $64,900. Bunkers are being purchased or built by “preppers”, a group of people actively preparing for serious catastrophes, like the apocalypse forecast some have forecasted based on the Mayan calendar. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

: Paul Seyfried climbs into a bunker he is constructing for a client at Utah Shelter Systems in North Salt Lake, Utah, on December 12, 2012. The price of the shelters range from $51,800 to $64,900. Bunkers are being purchased or built by “preppers”, a group of people actively preparing for serious catastrophes, like the apocalypse forecast some have forecasted based on the Mayan calendar. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

: Paul Seyfried works in a bunker he is constructing for a client at Utah Shelter Systems in North Salt Lake, Utah, on December 12, 2012. The price of the shelters range from $51,800 to $64,900. Bunkers are being purchased or built by “preppers”, a group of people actively preparing for serious catastrophes, like the apocalypse forecast some have forecasted based on the Mayan calendar. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

: Paul Seyfried walks past bunkers he is constructing for clients at Utah Shelter Systems in North Salt Lake, Utah, on December 12, 2012. The price of the shelters range from $51,800 to $64,900. Bunkers are being purchased or built by “preppers”, a group of people actively preparing for serious catastrophes, like the apocalypse forecast some have forecasted based on the Mayan calendar. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

: Honduran urban artist Nelson Salgado stands in the entrance of his workshop in Tegucigalpa next to a mural named “The Conquest” which depicts Mayan characters. Salgado plans to paint at least 15 paintings related to the current Mayan Long Count calendar, which ends on December 21, 2012. While some think the calendar’s end is a prediction of the apocalypse, researchers say the date marks the beginning of a new calendar cycle. (Jorge Cabrera/Reuters)

: Italian artist Lello Esposito shows his 2.70-meters lucky horns in his atelier in Naples on December 15, 2012. These giant horns, larger versions of what many southern Italians believe to be a symbol of good luck, were created by Esposito to prevent the end of the world forecasted on December 21, 2012. (Carlo Hermann/AFP/Getty Images)

: Indigenous Bolivians and Maya descendants take part in a ceremony of the sacred fire at Intja island near La Paz on December, 16 2012. The ceremony took place on the first of six days of celebrations to commemorate the end of the Mayan Calendar on December 21, which some believe to be the end of the world, but which indigenous Bolivians regard as the change of an era. (Gaston Brito/Reuters)

: Mayan priests make offerings on the Tunupa ship in Lake Titicaca, 46 miles away from the Bolivian capital of La Paz, on December 16, 2012. The offerings took place on the first of six days of celebrations to commemorate the end of the Mayan Calendar on December 21, which some believe to be the end of the world, but which indigenous Bolivians regard as the change of an era. (Gaston Brito/Reuters)

: The Maya temple of Kukulkan, the feathered serpent and Mayan snake deity, is seen at the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, in the southern Mexican state of Yucatan. In anticipation for December 21, the end of an era in the 5,125-year Maya calendar, thousands are converging on ancient ruins in southern Mexico and Guatemala. The date has been variously interpreted as the end of days, the start of a new era, or just a solid excuse for a party. (Mauricio Marat/National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)/Handout photo for Reuters)

: A Mayan priest performs a ritual during the ancient Chickaban feast to honor the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl and the storm god Kukulcan, at the Xoclan Archaeo-ecological Park in Merida, Mexico. (Luis Perez/AFP/Getty Images)

: People take part in a Mayan ritual during the ancient Chickaban feast to honor the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl and the storm god Kukulcan, at the Xoclan Archaeo-ecological Park in Merida, Mexico. (Luis Perez/AFP/Getty Images)

: Offerings made by Mayan shamans during a ritual at the Quirigua archaeological site in Izabal, 210 km north of Guatemala City, where ceremonies will be held to celebrate the end of the Mayan calendar and start of a new era on December 21. The Mayan calendar has 18 months of 20 days each plus a sacred month, “Wayeb,” with five days. “B’aktun” is the largest unit in the time-cycle system, and is about 400 years. The broader era spans 13 B’aktun, or about 5,200 years. (Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images)

: A Mayan shaman performs a ritual at the Quirigua archaeological site, 210 km north of Guatemala City, where ceremonies will be held to celebrate the end of the Mayan calendar and start of a new era on December 21. The Mayan calendar has 18 months of 20 days each plus a sacred month, “Wayeb,” with five days. “B’aktun” is the largest unit in the time-cycle system, and is about 400 years. The broader era spans 13 B’aktun, or about 5,200 years. (Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images)

7 Comments

JON
Dec 20, 2012 @ 23:54:12

Epoch Time? Sounds alot like Y2K, and we all know how that went

MarMar Toung
Dec 20, 2012 @ 17:16:44

The one(s) who beleive it must end their live before the time and then going to heven or other as, with the ways as you all like. Act now, before too late. YOU IDDIET !!!!!

Epoch time
Dec 20, 2012 @ 00:17:06

January 19, 2038 03:14:08 GMT this is the real END OF THE WORLD. At that precise time and date Epoch time will end its 32 bit count, and all the computers in the world (including all the legacy applications that control airplanes, air traffic, electric nationwide power grids, the internet main ISPs, all the nuclear missiles launching systems in the US, Russia and China, airplanes, nuclear submarines, cell phone and data networks, satellites, star wars laser and nuclear satellites from Reagan days, EVERYTHING) will stop to work.
That time and day is the day the humankind will be destroyed. There is no way around it. You are all DOOMED!

morgan jurgens
Dec 19, 2012 @ 18:59:42

is the world going to end for real because i do not want to die!

emmkay
Dec 19, 2012 @ 17:09:29

Are any of you doing anything to prepare just in case? I stocked up on food and water and backed up all my data on http://offworldbackup.com You never know! I’d rather be prepared than caught off-guard…

- Jody
  Dec 20, 2012 @ 09:54:48
  
  If it actually is the end of the world, what does it matter if you stockpile food and back up your computer? As if there will be electricity… You idiot!
  
S. Dave
Dec 19, 2012 @ 09:11:50

It;s not just fear mongering but will also be very detrimental not only to those who buy it but also to those who have spent so much time pushing this crap. Starting on the 22nd, they will all be the butt end of many jokes for many years to come. Just imagine what the history channel will have to wonder what to do with all those apolocalyptic “documnetaries” and of course nothing meaningful to fill their timeslots with.

‘Mayan apocalypse’ preparations are under way

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