[WorldUrbanLegend] 2012 apocalypse
2012 apocalypse
The claim that the Earth would end on December 21, 2012, was one of the most widely spread apocalyptic theories of the 21st century. This story was rooted in the ancient Maya civilization, but it became clear over time that it was based on a fundamental misinterpretation.
The origin of this belief stemmed from a misunderstanding of the Maya calendar. The Maya people regularly renewed their calendar, and their calendar marked the end of each cycle with a new beginning. When the last date of their calendar, December 21, 2012, was reached, some people interpreted it as the day of the Earth’s destruction. However, the Maya never predicted any apocalypse. To them, 'end' simply meant the completion of a time cycle, signifying a new beginning.
Nevertheless, the 2012 doomsday theory spread quickly among the public. In the West, especially in the United States, many people became anxious about the end of the Maya calendar, with some even preparing emergency supplies. Various websites, such as those focusing on '2012 disaster' theories, proliferated on the internet, depicting apocalyptic scenarios and spreading fear. What many people wanted to believe was that some catastrophic event would inevitably occur, a disaster beyond their imagination.
However, archaeologists who studied the Maya civilization thoroughly refuted these claims. The Maya were simply keeping track of time and had never attempted to predict the end of the world. The end of their calendar was merely the conclusion of one cycle and the beginning of a new one. Much like how the Maya celebrated anniversaries and festivals, the end of the cycle was not an 'end' but a 'new beginning.'
As the year 2012 drew nearer, people became increasingly fearful. Some, drawing from the Maya calendar, the Chinese I Ching, Nostradamus' prophecies, and the Sibylline oracles, believed that December 21, 2012, would mark the Earth's end. They provided various reasons and explanations, claiming that everything would come to a halt on that day.
However, December 21, 2012, came and went without any significant event. The Earth did not perish, and life continued as usual. Afterward, some conspiracy theorists continued to predict an apocalypse, but the lack of any occurrence on that day led to their eventual loss of credibility.
In the years that followed, the incorrect interpretation of the Maya calendar was definitively debunked by archaeologists. New discoveries of Maya calendars showed that their timekeeping could extend as far as 7,000 years into the future, proving that the December 21, 2012, date was simply the end of one cycle. Ultimately, the 2012 doomsday theory was disproven by scientific facts and faded into history.
In the end, nothing happened on December 21, 2012, and the predictions of doomsday theorists ended as empty words. The year passed, and people returned to their daily lives. However, the event left an important lesson: human beings have always feared the uncertain future, and in order to overcome that fear, they are often tempted to believe in prophecies or apocalyptic theories.
