DOOMSDAY Dec. 21, 2012

Frightening images of the end of the world have been promoted by eschatological believers in what has
become a special phenomenon mixed with rumors, superstition and pop culture.

The Dec. 21, 2012 marks a cicle of 5,200 years in the Mayan calendar which many people have associated with the end of the world. But Mexico's researchers debunks Mayan doomsday prophecy recently, telling that the doomsday prophecy was born out of the wrong interpretation of Mayan time concept, which assumes an infinite extension of the past and the future in a cyclic manner.

Despite the debate, few people really believe the day marks the demise of humanity, regarding it merely as a theme for socializing.

The designation of Dec. 21, 2012 as doomsday, which misinterprets an ancient Mayan calendar, is rejected even by many Mayan descendants, and has been debunked by scientists. However, the rumors did send ripples all around the world.

In France, some people even gathered on a mountain top waiting to be picked up by some alien spacecraft. There were incidents of scare buying in Russia.