GUATEMALA: Guatemalans prepare to celebrate the start of the new Mayan calendar on December 21 at the archaeological site of Tikal

Record ID: 517478

  • Title: GUATEMALA: Guatemalans prepare to celebrate the start of the new Mayan calendar on December 21 at the archaeological site of Tikal
  • Date: 20th December 2012
  • Summary: TIKAL, PETEN, GUATEMALA (DECEMBER 19, 2012 ) (REUTERS) MAIN ENTRANCE TO TIKAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE BANNER THAT READS: "NATIONAL PARK, TIKAL GUATEMALA" VARIOUS OF THE PYRAMID TEMPLE OF THE GREAT JAGUAR NORTH OF THE GRAN PLAZA VARIOUS OF DANCERS REHEARSING TOURISTS WALKING AROUND THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
  • Embargoed: 4th January 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Guatemala
  • Country: Guatemala
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA8JVO6805SRZE83ZNFVDL7LQP0
  • Story Text: Preparations are underway in Guatemala where thousands are converging on ancient sites to celebrate the start of the new Mayan calendar on December 21.
    Large scale celebrations for the new era have been planned at the archaeological site of Tikal where dancers can be seen rehearsing while tourists look on.
    December 21 marks the end of an age in a 5,125 year-old Maya calendar - an event variously interpreted as the end of days, the start of a new era, or just an excuse for a party.
    Tourist guide Cesar Moran noted that December 21 will also mark the realignment of the Milky Way.

    "There are mixed feelings. Some believe the world is going to end. Others believe it's the end of an era and the beginning of another. The interesting thing is that during this event on December 21 there will be a realignment. The Milky Way will be abel to be seen at 14 degrees, aligning itself with the earth and sun. That is what leads many to think there will be gravitational changes and interruption to magnetic waves, but in fact this alignment has been present for 4.5 million years and the Earth still exists," he said.
    For some Guatemalans, the event is a source of pride.

    "I feel very proud of being Guatemalan and to be able to experience it because it's an opportunity to know more about my own culture. Sometimes schools fail to teach everything they could. It's an opportunity because even the Mayas were unable to experience it. This is something very special for me," said Guatemalan resident, Gabriela.
    Some, however, have criticized the commemorations because they believe the indigenous, the descendants of the Maya, have been excluded.
    The Mayan civilization thrived between AD 250 and 900 and extended from modern day Honduras to central Mexico. It left behind a trove of pyramids and dozens of distinct Mayan groups who continue to endure.
    Many, such as this U.S. tourist marvel at how the pyramids were built.

    "It's very impressive. It's hard to imagine how they were built that long ago with the primitive tools and such," he said.
    When dawn breaks on Friday, according to the Maya Long Count calendar, it marks the end of the 13th bak'tun - an epoch lasting some 400 years - and the beginning of the 14th.
    This fact would probably have languished in academic obscurity had not a young Maya expert named Michael Coe written in the 1960s that to the ancient Mesoamerican culture the date could herald an "Armageddon" to cleanse humanity.
    Since then, the cult of 2012 has snowballed.
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