The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of eschatological beliefs according to which cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on 21 December 2012. This date is regarded as the end-date of a 5,125-year cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Various astronomical alignments and numerological formulae have been proposed as pertaining to this date, though none have been accepted by mainstream scholarship. A New Age interpretation of this transition is that this date marks the start of a time in which Earth and its inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation, and that 2012 may mark the beginning of a new era. Others suggest that the date marks the end of the world or a similar catastrophe. Scenarios suggested for the end of the world include the arrival of the next solar maximum, an interaction between Earth and the black hole at the centre of the galaxy, or Earth's collision with a planet called "Nibiru". Scholars from various disciplines have dismissed the idea of such cataclysmic events occurring in 2012. Mayanist scholars state that predictions of impending doom are not found in any of the extant classic Maya accounts, and that the idea that the Long Count calendar "ends" in 2012 misrepresents Maya history and culture.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1860:

South Carolina became the first of eleven slave states to secede from the United States, leading to the eventual creation of the Confederate States of America and later the American Civil War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America

1946:

Frank Capra's popular Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life was first released in New York City. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Wonderful_Life

1955:

Cardiff was proclaimed as the capital of Wales. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff

1999:

Portugal transferred sovereignty of Macau, which it had administered since the mid-16th century, to China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau

2007:

Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch was stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Suzanne_Bloch

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

b'ak'tun: A period, in Maya calendrical reckoning, of 144 000 days, which is 394.25 solar years. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/b%27ak%27tun

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Individuality is only possible if it unfolds from wholeness. --David Bohm https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Bohm