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December 21, 2012 is the next “big prediction” date that will cause a lot of uneasiness for some, excitement for others, and apathy for even more. Much like the Y2K scare, people will be stocking their underground pantries, loading up on guns and ammunition, and asking for repentance the night before the big event. This page is dedicated to bringing together different ‘opinions and best guesses’ about what may or may not happen when the Mayan Long Count Calendar comes to an end.           To begin with, we need a brief introduction to the Mayans. Who are they? Why were they significant and where did they go? Why do some think the end of the world hinges on the end of the Mayan calendar?           The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. History records indicate their presence was initially established around 2000 BC and that many Maya cities reached their highest state of development between 250 AD to 900 AD, and continued until the arrival of the Spanish.. At its peak, it was one of the most densely populated and culturally dynamic societies in the world. Many people today say the Mayas have disappeared, but that is not true. Today, the Maya and their descendants form sizable populations throughout the Maya area and maintain a distinctive set of traditions and beliefs. The Maya area includes parts of southern Mexico and northern Central America.           Like the Aztec and Inca who came to power later, the Maya believed in a cyclical nature of time. The rituals and ceremonies were very closely associated with celestial and terrestrial cycles which they observed and inscribed as separate calendars. The Maya priest had the job of interpreting these cycles and giving a prophetic outlook on the future or past based on the number relations of all their calendars. They also had to determine if the "heavens" or celestial matters were appropriate for performing certain religious ceremonies.

The date December 21st, 2012 A.D. represents the ending of the 13th b’ak’tun cycle represented on the Long Count calendar. Misinterpretation of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar is the basis for a New Age belief that a cataclysm will take place on December 21, 2012. December 21, 2012 is simply the last day of the 13th b'ak'tun. But that is not the end of the Long Count because the 14th through 20th b'ak'tuns are still to come. Sandra Noble, executive director of the Mesoamerican research organization FAMSI, notes that "for the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle". She considers the portrayal of December 2012 as a doomsday or cosmic-shift event to be "a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in." The 2009 science fiction apocalyptic disaster film 2012 is based on this belief.           A Mayan priest, Carlos Barrios, gives us his perspective, after studying with traditional Mayan elders for 25 years. He tells us the world will not end in December 2012, but will be transformed. He states that “as we pass through transition there is colossal, global, convergence of environmental destruction, social chaos, war, and ongoing Earth changes.” The Mayan Daykeepers view the Dec. 21, 2012 date as a rebirth, the start of the World of the Fifth Sun. At sunrise, on December 21st, 2012 for the first time in 26,000 years the Sun rises to conjunct the intersection of the Milky Way and the plane of the ecliptic. This cosmic cross is considered to be an embodiment of the Sacred tree, The Tree of Life, a tree remembered in all the world’s spiritual traditions.