Much has been said in recent years about the end of the world according to the Mayan calendar. Some say that the Mayan calendar ends on December 21st, therefore the world will come to an end on that day. There have been many radio and television programs about this subject all of which include guests that are supposed to be experts on the topic. Most if not all of these so-called "experts" are white men thinking from the typical european cultural perspective, who have received nothing but a European centered education. How could these people be experts on ancient Mayan culture? None of the programs featured any indigenous Mayan people that could shed some real light on Mayan culture.
The idea that the world is going to end according to the Mayan calendar amounts to nothing more than an urban legend. The Mayan calendar is completely different that the Greco-Roman calendar that we follow today. It is 2012 according Europeans, based on the birth of a fictional Jesus. It is not 2012 according to original and indigenous cultures.
The Mayan calendar was not a season based calendar, it was a lunar based calendar. The Mayans had a series of calendars to track different things. Their calendars go on for eons and does not end in 2012. In fact according to the Mayan 2012 is the end of an age, not the end of the world. An age or cycle, according to that particular calendar last for 5,125 years. When one calendar or cycle ends, another cycle begins. It does not constitute the end of the world.