December 21 is not quite the end of the world

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Today is finally December 21, 2012, or what should have been the end of the world according to the interpretations of the Mayan calender. Some parts of the earth are yet to move into the next day and people the world over are surely wondering what the hype is all about. In reality it all comes down to a bunch of numbers on a calender.

Mayan calender

The ancient Mayans’ calender would complete its 13th cycle on December 21, 2012. According to the ‘Codex Dresdensis’, which is one of the four historic existing Mayan manuscripts, a sky caiman is depicted to vomit water on the world towards the end of the script. This was interpreted to mean that the world would end after the calender cycle completes.

The Winter solstice also coincides with this  date and both these factors put together seemed to scare people into believing that something terrible would occur. The Mayans initially believed that the world would end in May 2003, however, this did not happen and people started mentioning that December 21, 2012, would be the day.

Scientists and cosmologists are say that this date only signifies the end of a cosmological cycle and that another one will start. They say that this is nothing to worry about. After the Y2K scare and various other doomsday prophesies one wonders if people are more interested in meeting their maker than living a full life at present.