Why does the myan calender end in 2012?

Question

Why does the myan calender end in 2012?

Answer 1

The mayans were quite adapt in astronomy.  Their calendar ends on the linear label,meaning there is nothing more after, but really the people were big on cycles.  The mayans were never big on endings they were big on ending of Ages and restarting of a new Age.  Thus far in the Mayan calendar they have stated 6 Ages.  Each Age corosponded with an Ice Age of sorts or a major meteorological event, like a comet collision and such.

  This particular part in the calendar ends on December 21,2012 with no instructions as to what to do next.  My interpretation is that.....(not that I'm anyone important)

the Earth will be lined up with the center of the galaxy. like a sort of eclipse, and the Milky Way will begin moving in a spin to place the Earth on the otherside of the galaxy.  This might mean the reignition of Day 1 on the Mayan calendar and restarting the 6 Ages all over again, timewise.

I do not see any reason for people to say this is the end of the world.  I personally hate the implication many people have stated that 2012 is the death date for the global population.  I for one do not intend of dying because the rock I live on blew apart.

Answer 2

Nobody knows for sure. There are jokes like, "maybe they ran out of rock". Some people believe that is when the world ends. Others believe its just the end of our current cycle and the beginning of another.

Answer 3

Why does the western calendar end on December 31st?

Because most calendars have an end point somewhere of  course. The Mayans just charted a much longer span on time and, were they still around today, would likely be working on the next giant calendar.

Answer 4

the guy making it went on coffee break union rules you know lol

Answer 5

The Mayan calendar ends in 2012 because that is when they predicted that the world will end.

Answer 6

the emperor who ordered it made probably died.

Answer 7

The 2012 date is not the actual end of the Mayan calendar.  It is the end of the long count calendar.  

The Mayan's had three types of calendars, and when the long count calendar ends it's supposed to be the dawning of a new age.  The long count has ended 3 times, I believe, before hand, and supposedly something astounding happened to mankind each time, like the arrival of the Spanish.

This 2012 though has something neat, which is a cosmic alignment which only happens every 20,000 years or some such.  Which is one of the reasons why people believe this may be the end of the world....but i'm not exactly sure why the aligment is such a big deal.

Answer 8

in 2012 it is either the earth or the solar system line up with the center of the galaxy

Answer 9

end of 1 cycle, begining of another.

Answer 10

2012 and the long count,according to the popol vuh, a book compiling details of creation accounts known to the k'iche' maya of the colonial-era highlands,we are living in the forth world. the popol vuh describes the first three creations that the gods failed in making and the creation of the sucessful fouth world where men were placed .in the maya long count,the previous creation ended at the start of a 13th b'ak'tun. the previous creation ended on a long count of 12. 19. 19. 17. 19. another 12. 19. 19. 17.19 will occur on december 20,2012,followed by the start of the thirteenth b'ak'tun, 13.0.0.0.0, on december 21,2012. -inscriptions beyond 2012 maya stela occasionally show dates beyond 2012. most of these are in  the form of (distance dates), where a long count date is given with a distance  date to be added. for example , on tablet of inscriptions from palenque were found the following  long count date;9.8.9.13.0 8 ahau 13 pop (24 march 603 gregorian) with a distance  date of10.11.10.5.8. the resulting date is given  as 1.0.0.0.0.8 5 lamat 1 mol, or 21 october 4772- almost 3,000 years into the future. the king pacal of palenque predicted that on  this date  the  eightieth round anniversary of his  accession will be celebrated, suggesting he did not believe the world  would end in 2012

Answer 11

I don't know but  what I want to know is, what the h**l are mayans? And where is maya?

Answer 12

The Myans believed that the world would end in 2012, so what's the point of having a calendar farther than that?