Mayan priests celebrate the start of the countdown to the "new era"

Guatemala.- At the National Palace of Culture, in the Patio de la Paz, Mayan priests performed a spiritual ceremony, in order to start the countdown of the 13 baktun, according to the Mayan calendar the 5.125 years lasting and in one year ending life cycle. The act clarified that the December 21, 2012 does not mean the end of the world, it is rather the beginning of a "new era".

The start of the countdown to the last year of the "long count" of the Mayan calendar, coincided with the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere and to the Maya it represents the beginning of a new period.

source: Emisoras Unidas (spanish)

photo: Radio UtanKaj