There are rumors the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012. That's when a 5,125-year period known as the Long Count in the Mayan calendar supposedly comes to a close.
Dec. 21, 2012, essentially is the end of a cycle, like when you change the calendar in your kitchen on Jan. 1. But for those who take the most dramatic interpretation of the day, it has spurred fears of apocalypse, solar storms, meteors, polar realignments, UFOs and other doomsday predictions.
While conspiracy theorists are stocking up on supplies and survival gear and true believers are panicking, most will just recognize that the day is Winter Solstice and the shortest day of the year.
And some have found a way embrace the day and whatever it may bring by throwing an End of the World Party.
The website Doomsday Party 2012 is advocating for a worldwide celebration extravaganza in case Dec. 21 really is the End of Days. Among the advice on the website: only invite people to your apocalyptic event who can help you fight off rioters and zombies. Good soundtrack options include R.E.M.'s "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", Europe's "The Final Countdown", and Bad Religion's "Los Angeles Is Burning".
Cruise ships are destined for the Yucatan Peninsula, the Mayan region of Mexico. There, the Museo Maya de Cancun opened earlier this year and the Mexican government declared it Mundo Maya 2012, which melds education about the culture and tourism.
Of course, not everyone is ready to party. In Russia, the women incarcerated at a prison near the Chinese border grew so hysterical with fear that the nation's minister of emergency situations issued a statement reassuring the country that the world wasn't ending. There's even a live countdown until the appointed hour, 12-21-12 at 11:11 UTC—which is 8 hours ahead of West Coast time.
NASA published scientific explanations to diffuse the Mayan Calendar theory and other possible causes End of Days. For example, scientists say giant solar storms are not a threat. Solar activity has a regular cycle, with peaks approximately every 11 years, according to NASA.
Are you taking any precautions for 12-21-12 — just in case? Know anyone who is seriously worried?
