21st December 2012 ; World’s End?

Following the recent release of the film 2012, staring John Cusak, there has been an increased interest in the theory that the world will end on 21st December 2012.  There have also been several books that have been written on the subject such as :

2012 The Return of Quetzalcoatl by Daniel Pinchbeck
Beyond 2012: Catastrophe or Awakenings?  By Geoff Stray and John Major Jenkins
Apocalypse 2012: An Investigation Into Civilisations End by Lawrence E Joseph

The basis that the world will end on 21st December 2012 has stemmed from the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar, whereby the 13th b’ak’tun ends.

So what is b’ak’tun?  B’ak’tun is a measurement of time which had been calculated by the Maya civilisation.  To have a better understanding of the measurement, here is a break down of how a b’ak’tun has been calculated.

1 x k’in           = 1 day
20 x ki’in        =    1 Winal (20 days)
18 x Winal     =    1 Tun (360 days)
20 x Tun        =    1 K’atun (7,200 days)
20 x K’atun    =    1 B’ak’tun (144,000 days)

Many people believe that 21st December 2012 will mark the end of the world as we know it.  How the world will end is a little unclear, as there are several theories including the earth being frazzled by a massive solar flare or it will be smashed to smithereens by a gigantic comet and then flooded by ensuing 1000ft tidal wave following the gigantic comet.

There are even people who are already making preparations for 2012 (in the event of surviving being frazzled by a solar flare, pummelled by a comet and drowning in 1000ft tidal wave).  These people are already stocking up with extra food, water and some have even purchased rubber dinghy’s (bless!)

So am I worried that the world is going to end in 2012?  Well no, not really. When you take into account that the Mayan’s had calculated a total of 20 b’ak’tuns on their Long Count calendar (which would take us to the year 4773) – a movie or books predicting the world will end in 4773 isn’t quite so sensational – so this piece of information appears to have been conveniently withheld.

Even Sandra Noble, the executive director of the Mesoamerican research organisation (FAMSI), advises that “for the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle.” In other words it was effectively going to be the equivalent celebration of our Y2K (millennium).

So come 21st December 2012, I will be rushing around getting my last minute Christmas shopping as I normally do every year  – not even the threat of a solar flare or giant comet will prompt me to do it any earlier.  However, in the event of me being incorrect, I might just ask Santa for a dinghy for my Christmas 2011 present, just to be on the safe side…