On Friday, Dec. 21, 2012, a 5,125-year period known as the Long Count in the Mayan calendar supposedly comes to a close, inciting rumors in recent years that the End of Days is upon us and spurring 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.
What are your thoughts on 12-21-12? Do you have survival gear ready? Or are you planning an apocalyptic End of the World party?
