Video: Mayan ceremony at 'Star Wars' temple in Guatemala

While most of us are chuckling over the non-happening apocalypse (and some are secretly relieved it didn't happen), the Mayans are taking the date more seriously, as they already knew the world wasn't ending today. 

There has been much hype recently that the world was going to end on December 21, 2012. The media and Hollywood saturated the world with the news that this date is the end of the Mayan calendar, and thus, the end of the world. 

Well guess what. It is now December 21, and we are still around. No apocalypse here. Carry on with what you are doing... 

However, those who know the true meaning of the date on the Mayan calendar held a special ceremony on Thursday night to mark the end of the 13th Baktun, or the end of our current era, according to the Mayan Long Count Calendar. 

Tourists and true believers gathered at Mayan archaeological sites across Guatemala to watch the ceremony, as can be viewed in the video above.

Many believe that the human race will become more conscious in this new era. 

Similar ceremonies were held at Mayan sites in Mexico. Yucatan Governor Rolando Zapata, said, "We believe that the beginning of a new baktun means the beginning of a new era, and we're receiving it with great optimism." 

Esther Romo, a Mexico City businesswoman who works in art promotion and galleries said, "This is the beginning of a change in priorities and perceptions. We are all one." "No limits, no boundaries, no nationalities, just fusion." 

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/339540

Apocalypse survival kits on sale now in Mexico and Russia

As what may be the ideal stocking filler for Christmas 2012 (presuming we get that far, of course), some entrepreneurs have come up with tongue-in-cheek survival kits for the end of the world.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/337795#ixzz2DQalUNLD

As what may be the ideal stocking filler for Christmas 2012 (presuming we get that far, of course), some entrepreneurs have come up with tongue-in-cheek survival kits for the end of the world.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/337795#ixzz2DQalUNLD

While many still think that according to the Mayan calendar, December 21, 2012 will mark the end of the world as we know it, predictions of impending doom are apparently not found in any of the classic Maya accounts.

Those in the know say that the idea that the Long Count calendar "ends" in 2012 misrepresents Maya history and culture entirely.

Despite this, a couple of entrepreneurs have decided to cash in on the whole end-of-the-world idea by selling "tongue-in-cheek" survival kits for the apocalypse.

First in line was Mexico, where a company launched a survival kit in April 2012.  The contents include matches, a knife, water for ten days, traditional Mexican cinnamon-laced chocolate, a note book and pencil, along with a little ‘Mayan liquor’ to take the edge off.

Now a company in Siberia is getting in line to do something similar, although they say their version is better. 

According to the Moscow Times, a company representative said, "We browsed the Internet and found that kits for this day [Doomsday] were only sold in Mexico. At this point we decided to make a 'comic' version for Russians, which turned out to be an inspired idea."

While this kit wouldn't actually keep you alive for very long, it boasts medication, including heart medicine, soap, some candles and matches, a can of fish, a pack of buckwheat, a bottle of vodka, a notepad and pencil – and a rope.  The use of the rope, can of course, can be left open-ended!  You even get a blank ID card, which you can fill in by hand, just in case your official ID is “demagnetized” during the apocalypse.

The kit includes something for everyone, including an instruction card with rules of various games you can play to pass the end-of-the-world boredom.

The producer of this kit is, rather surprisingly, Marina Mendelson, a bridal party company in Tomsk, Western Siberia, and the cost of the kit is a reasonable 890 rubles – roughly $28.  A spokesperson for the company says that around 1,000 kits have already been sold, and it is becoming popular as a corporate New Year present.

However, local officials are being spoilsports, and have announced plans to ban sales of the kit, due to the vodka and medication content, which require special permits to be sold, according to Sostav.ru.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/337795