New DH calendar
Article updated: 12/12/2012 5:35 AM

Mayan prophecy sparks dread, celebration worldwide

Buy this photo Buy this photo
next prev 2 of 4
   

People raise their hands during a ceremony by Mayan sages in Bacuranao, Cuba. From Russia to California, thousands are preparing for the fateful day, when many believe a 5,125-year cycle known as the Long Count in the Mayan calendar supposedly comes to an end.

Associated Press/Dec. 6, 2012

Gallery Image

The Internet has helped feed the end of the world frenzy, spreading rumors that the Bugarach mountain peak in the French Pyrenees is hiding an alien spaceship that will be the sole escape from the destruction. French authorities are blocking access to Bugarach peak from Dec. 19-23 except for the village's 200 residents "who want to live in peace," the local prefect said in a news release.

Associated Press/June 2011

Lu Zhenghai has spent his life savings building the 70-foot-by-50-foot vessel powered by three diesel engines to help save him when he believes a flood will hit China on Dec. 21.

Associated Press

Mayan priests pray during a ceremony marking the Mayan solar new year in Guatemala City. From Russia to California, thousands are preparing for the fateful day, when many believe a 5,125-year cycle known as the Long Count in the Mayan calendar supposedly comes to an end. The Maya didn't say much about what would happen next, but into that void have rushed occult writers, bloggers and New Age visionaries foreseeing all manner of monumental change.

Associated Press/February 2011

About this Article

The clock is ticking down to Dec. 21, the supposed end of the Mayan calendar, and from China to California to Mexico, thousands are getting ready for what they think is going to be a fateful day. The Maya didn't say much about what would happen next, after a 5,125-year cycle known as the Long Count comes to an end. "I think this tells us more about ourselves, particularly in the Western world, than it does about the ancient Maya," said Geoffrey Braswell, an associate professor of anthropology and at the University of California, San Diego.