21 December 2012. The end day of the ancient Maya calendar, and the day, many believe, the world will end. As 21st December approaches, people around the world are preparing themselves for the apocalypse. Though the Maya didn’t say much about what would happen next, many members of the public have rushed to fill the void. They are foreseeing all manner of monumental change – from natural disasters, to doomsday, to a new age of enlightenment. So while us Brits are preoccupied with Christmas shopping and other jovial festivities, many people all over the world are taking this Armageddon talk extremely seriously…
China
A very dedicated farmer prepares for the apocalypse in China by inventing a survival pod he hopes will be of use during the arrival-of-the-end, by providing protection against natural disasters. The airtight sphere has space for around fourteen people, contains oxygen masks and seat-belts, and is designed to remain upright in water. Liu Quiyan from the village of Qiantun, Herbei province, says he was inspired by the 2004 Asian tsunami and by the ‘brilliant’ apocalyptic Hollywood movie ‘2012’ to develop the pod. The pod, nicknamed ‘Noah’s Ark’ may be able to float on water, but will it be able to survive the end of the world? If the world is to end in a couple of weeks, I’m not sure I would be happy being one of the (un)lucky fourteen who will spend their last moments on earth in a fibre-glass shell.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/ufo/8217001/French-village-which-will-survive-2012-Armageddon-plagued-by-visitors.html
Russia
In the meantime, Russians are preparing for the world’s end by shopping for candles and vodka. To prepare for the Mayan doomsday Russian shoppers are clearing out the shop shelves in the country’s far north and east, where it is believed the apocalypse will supposedly hit first. And what do Russians need for the end of the world? Vodka of course. And imaginatively, lots of candles and matches, which have been going for three to four times the normal rate.
Meanwhile, authorities are trying to bring a little sense back to the public. As the Daily Beast has announced; Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev rejected the Mayan cosmology. “I do not believe in the end of the world,” he explained. “At least, not this year”. You would think this announcement would have been enough to calm the public paranoia, but then again, when has the words of a prime minister ever been taken seriously by everybody? Unsurprisingly, the promises of officials are not comforting everybody, and many still believe the two-week-long time of “complete darkness and silence” is still very much going to happen. At least that explains the candles. And vodka? Well at least people can drink themselves to oblivion when the time comes.
Even Russian news websites are publishing survival recommendations – among them, “move to a country house, and make sure you have a stove, plenty of water, and firewood.” Most people in Russia have country homes, called dachas, so surely there should be no need to panic. If anything, their chance of survival is higher than the rest of ours. However, many Russians are still unprepared to take chances. One Russian businessman Valentin Sveridov, 45, decided to not waste any time and evacuated his wife and seven-year-old son from Moscow. He describes his terror when he read on the internet how the capital will be like hell-on-earth. There will be – in his own words; “Rivers of blood, hundreds of rotting dead bodies, and deadly epidemics.”
However, the Russian businessman remains optimistic. “Russians are made to survive,” Sveridov says, “we are used to living on the edge of apocalypse – they turn the electricity off almost everyday in my home village in the far east.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/11/russians-prepare-for-world-s-end-buy-candles-and-vodka.html
Netherlands
It seems that this fear of an apocalyptic end is wildly sweeping the rest of Europe. In the Netherlands, thousands of Dutch citizens are preparing for 2012 by stocking up on emergency survival supplies, with the most dedicated even purchasing life rafts. However, it seems some are quite optimistic about the possibility of the world ending, and are even welcoming the prospect. Petra Faile, a person recently interviewed by Press TV, has recently stated; “you know, maybe it’s really not that bad that the Netherlands will be destroyed”. He adds that he doesn’t like living in the country anymore because of immigration and how the government continues to allow people in the country. He sounds like a very friendly man.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/2187871/Dutch-prepare-for-Maya-apocalypse.html
France
In the meantime, the small, sleep village of Bugarach, population 189, is being inundated by large groups of fanatic outsiders who believe the peak of the village’s mountain is an “alien garage”. According to them, extraterrestrials are quietly waiting inside the Pic de Bugarach for the Armageddon to start, at which point they will leave, taking a few lucky humans with them. Outsiders see Bugarach as their ticket to a better place, and the village mayor, Jean-Pierre Delord, is worried about the effect these visitors are having on the sleepy village. “This is no laughing matter,” Delord recently told The Daily Telegraph.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/ufo/8217001/French-village-which-will-survive-2012-Armageddon-plagued-by-visitors.html
Mexico
However, the apocalypse isn’t only inspiring dread: some are eagerly putting on their yoga-pants and grasping their meditation beads, and joining a global counter-movement promoting the date as the start of a new era of hope. Thousands of New Age fanatics are expected to fill ancient sites across Mexico in the days leading up to it. One of the biggest movements is Birth 2012, which is using the Mayan date to suggest a global spiritual reset. Hotels near the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza have been sold out, with many rooms booked in advance. “We’ve activated this campaign for three days of love,” said movement co-founder Stephen Dinan. “Let’s have generosity and kindness be the operative fare, rather than people hunkering down in fear.”
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2012/12/11/mayan-apocalypse-world-awaits-big-day/
To be honest, Stephen may have a point. If the world really is going to end, why not ‘spread the love’ instead of cowering in your basement with a candle and a tin of soup. But it seems that while the rest of the world is ‘preparing’ for the End, us Brits are simply going about our daily business of work, sleep and Christmas shopping. To us, 25th December, Christmas day, seems like a far more exciting date than the supposed Day of Reckoning. Some may call us naive, maybe even stupid, but if the world is truly going to end in two weeks won’t we be having the last laugh? Surely when faced with something inevitable, it is better to carry on living and making the most of your time, instead of fearfully stocking up your food cupboard or searching for E.T.
And if the end doesn’t come? Well we aren’t going to look like the silly ones now are we.
Made By Katie 