mexico's maya heartland awaits dawn of new era

[xchrom]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_MEXICO_MAYAN_CALENDAR_2012?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-12-21-01-55-23


People gather in front of the Kukulkan Pyramid in Chichen Itza, Mexico, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012. American seer Star Johnsen-Moser led a whooping, dancing, drum-beating ceremony Thursday in the heart of Mayan territory to consult several of the life-sized crystal skulls, which adherents claim were passed down by the ancient Maya. (AP Photo/Israel Leal)

MERIDA, Mexico (AP) -- In the darkness before dawn Friday, spiritualists prepared white clothes, drums, conch shells and incense ahead of the sunrise they believe will herald the birth of a new and better age as a vast, 5,125-year cycle in the Mayan calendar comes to an end.

No one was quite sure at what time the Mayas' 13th Baktun would officially end on this Dec. 21. Some think it already ended at midnight Thursday. Others looked to Friday's dawn here in the Maya heartland. Some had later times in mind.

"Wait until the dawn on the 22nd; that is when we Maya will speak," Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchu said earlier in Guatemala, another Maya area.

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History even suggested that historical calculations to synchronize the Mayan and Western calendars might be off a few days. It said the Mayan Long Count calendar cycle might not really end until Sunday.

[Arcanetrance]

1. Am I the only one who feels like there's a mass Kool aid moment coming with some of these people

Some are so quick to embrace the idea of the end. It's not like every year we end a calendar

[MFM008]

2. we can only hope

[bklyncowgirl]

3. I wish I was down in Chichen Itza.

Sitting in the bar which, if I remember correctly, overlooks the site with a beer in my hand just to watch the crazy show. I always liked the Mayan people. I hope the people around there are making tons of money off the foreign nut jobs.