The latest countdown to doomsday as the Mayan calendar reaches an end this Friday has thousands of doomsday tourists flying to southern Mexico and Guatemala to observe ceremonies at Mayan archeological sites, and millions of others making plans to party like its the end of the world.
But perhaps you should to reconsider plans to tell a peevish boss where to go as you leave work this Friday.
The Maya never said the world was going to end, says Felipe Garcia, a Guatemalan Maya man who now lives in Vancouver. Whats going to end is one cycle, one calendar, and were going to start a new cycle.
The ancient Mayan understanding of time differs from the dominant, Western version.
This particular calendar has no beginning and no end, says Marvin Cohodas, a professor of art history at UBC specializing in contemporary Maya art. The ancient Maya thought time was infinite and the universe was created and destroyed an infinite number of times. But for recording purposes, they used the last creation as the starting point.
Because time is understood as infinite, each ending signals a rebirth, a transition that is never final.
After each destruction, time continues and the universe is recycled, says Cohodas. So the idea that the world is ending was not developed by the Maya people.
Furthermore, the calendar estimated to end on December 21 is only one of several calendars the Maya use to record time.
Media attention has helped Mexico and Guatemala attract scores of end-of-the-world tourists.
On December 11, Garcias daughter travelled to Guatemala to visit family but could not find a hotel room in the capital city because they were all booked.
Last month, professor Cohodas partnered with a Mayan associate and held two talks at Science World to share his knowledge of the Mayan calendar. He encountered curiosity at the events, but no doomsday angst.
Some people are making money off of [the end-of-the-world theory], but I dont know any one who is anxious, says Cohodas.
Asked why he thinks the apocalypse so often captures the human imagination, Cohodas suggests anxiety about the future and a search for simple solutions.
In a way, there is a kind of apocalypse now, he says. But its constant. Environmental destruction, climate change.
Neither Cohodas nor Garcia have made special plans for December 21.
On Dec. 22, you wont see big changes, says Garcia. Everything is changing all the time.
Perhaps an end is not the end and maintaining a good relationship with ones boss remains a good idea.
If the world doesnt come to an end on December 21, why not head to the HR MacMillan Space Centre that night for a screening of Hollywoods take, 2012. Its at 8pm. Tickets are $10.75. SpaceCentre.ca
