who believe that the world will end today

Swedes unfazed by looming 'apocalypse'

The Local's Eric Johansson spent what may be his last day on earth looking into why so few Swedes see any reason to worry about Friday, December 21st, which according to some interpretations of the Mayan calendar will be the end of the world.

A post published on Thursday on the crisis information website run by Sweden's Civil Contingencies Agency (Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap, MSB) strikes a reassuring tone.

"No high alert ahead of the end of the world," it proclaims.

"At the moment, we cannot see anything taking place on December 20th to indicate that panic will break out ahead of the end of the world.

"But if many people start to worry, we're at the ready 24/7."

While the words seem soothing, the agency nevertheless could leave an anxious visitor with a lingering niggle of doubt. 

"Is the world going to end on December 21st, 2012? The answer is simple: We have no idea."

In other words, even Sweden disaster response authorities seem to admit that the apocalypse predicted by the Mayan calendar may indeed take place.

Luckily, I'm ready, even if most other Swedes may not be.

The air is stale here. It smells and tastes like dust. There is moss on the walls and water is dripping from the ceiling.

I am underneath the streets of Södermalm, in Katarinagaraget, part of a big network of tunnels stretching out across Stockholm. 

Today, it houses hundreds of cars rather than people hunkered down to survive a catastrophe.

Like the Metro in Moscow, this is the place to be in the event of a nuclear war. And while the Mayan calendar doesn't seem to mention anything specific about nuclear weapons, this feels like a good place to shelter.

The idea was, in the event of an atomic blast near Stockholm, that this shelter's 5-tonne security doors would slam shut, keeping the radiation out and the people inside the tunnels safe.

Apparently, 20,000 people can survive down here. 

If they have food.

If they have water.

And I'm here, because the world is supposed to end tomorrow. That is if you believe the hype on the web. 

But apparently, not many Swedes do, as I don't see anyone else scrambling to grab a spot next to me in this cavernous underground bunker.

From what I've been told, the Mayan calendar ends tomorrow. There is nothing after December 21st. 

Literally nothing.

Some people out there are convinced the Mayans have got the right end of the stick and Friday really is the end of the world. Newspapers and social media sites are filled with stories about people getting ready for one final big bang, thinking the apocalypse is imminent. 

According to The Guardian, the fear of the apocalypse has Russia firmly in its grip, with people stockpiling matches, candles, salt, and flashlights while they await the end of the world.

They exchange survival tips online, preparing for the clock to strike apocalypse-nowish.

But Swedes do not care. 

“No one has called to ask if the world is really coming to an end. Most people that have been in contact with us have basically asked how to stay safe,” Civil Contingencies Agency spokesman Erik Löfgren tells The Local.

At least one caller, however, (that would be me, cowering underground), wants to know more about what he can do to prepare.

“No matter if you fear the destruction of the world, power outages, or any other threat, the key is to stock up on supplies," explains Löfgren.

"Make sure that you have some water bottles in your fridge, dried or canned food so that you have something to eat, and candles to keep you warm.”

Simple enough, except I'm already in the bunker and all I have is my laptop.

I am also alone, a fact which emboldens me to venture back to the surface to stock up on supplies, but also to talk to others about why they don't seem to care that there may literally be hours left before we are all obliterated.

My quick survey on the streets of Stockholm shows that many Swedes just cannot be bothered taking the Mayan calendar seriously.

"I don’t believe that the world will end tomorrow," says 51-year-old Eva.

"But if I did, I would spend my last day on earth with my loved ones."

Meanhile, New York-native Mike, 37, hasn't prepared at all for the threat of imminent death and destruction.

“What do you do when the world ends?” he asks, pausing for a second before adding that he'd drink some wine and take up smoking again.

“I haven’t smoked for five years, but if the world ends who cares? Lung cancer won’t care,” he quips.

So why are Swedes unconcerned about the end of the Mayan calendar? 

“I think that Swedes in general are used to basing their fears on scientific studies, rather than superstitions and mystical interpretations,” answers disaster expert Löfgren.

He doesn't believe the hype either. 

On that note, perhaps I should just head back to the office. Besides, it was rather boring underneath Stockholm.

What would you do if this was your last day on earth?

"I don’t believe that the world will end tomorrow, but if I did I would spend my last day on earth with my loved ones."

Mayan Apocalypse? Dec. 21 may be my last day on earth

Will December 21, 2012 be the end of the world? I can say with certainty that it will not. 

However, I cannot say the same of my last day on earth.  You see, I honestly don’t know when I will die, and thus when I’ll be called to meet my Maker and answer for the life He’s given me. It may very well be tomorrow, or even later today.

That’s why the practice of “living every day as if it’s your last” makes such good sense with a view to eternal judgment. The notion of living out your last days with mayhem only makes sense if you’re sure there is no God.

And even if you doubt there’s a God, unless you’re absolutely positive – which is, of course, not possible - it is an insane gamble because it means a potential eternal reward vs. eternal punishment.

Such thoughts are a real help when presented with temptations to give in to the culture of death.  The allure of selfishness, pornography, overeating, cheating, lying, promiscuity and the like are powerful and there is little in our culture today that discourages them. Remembering the eternal realities provides motivation to do good and avoid evil.

Especially for people of faith, living with these realities in mind will significantly alter how we treat our fellow human beings, how we “love” them.

It is much easier to “accept and respect” the anti-life/anti-family actions and attitudes of our friends and neighbors, rather than calling them on it. Gently confronting our loved ones with the truth by word and example is definitely challenging.  However, with the eternal realities in mind, it is the only way to truly love them.

So, while the hype around the Y2K and Mayan Apocalypse may be detrimental in some respects, the fact that it gets us thinking about the end of our lives can have some redeeming side effects. Happy December 21, 2012.

The Mayan calendar expires on December 21, leading some to believe that tomorrow is the end of the world.

Despite the fact that everyone from NASA scientists to the Vatican have debunked this theory, and even academics who study ancient Mayan history say it simply restarts – that hasn’t stopped some people from preparing for doomsday.

There are no clues as to how it all could end - anything from a massive volcanic eruption, to a solar storm, but one thing's for sure – the general public isn't really buying it.

“I’m as worried about the end of the world as I was the Y2K bug – either way I’m going to make sure I have a lot of batteries because you can never be too safe but overall I’m not really scared no,” one man commented.

“Not at all – it’s been said back in the 80s and then in 2000, I just – I don’t believe it,” another woman noted.

Even if you don't believe it, the whole idea still brings up an interesting question. What would you do if it were your last day on earth?

We put the question to people on the streets of Regina and on the News Talk 980 Facebook page.
Derek from Regina has a plan.

“I’d probably either spend my last couple of days with my family or really close friends – or I’d probably go down to Vegas and just splurge all my money,” he said.

Elaine wrote in to tell us she would throw her diet out the window, and eat "McDonalds for breakfast, KFC for lunch, Tony Romas for supper and pizza as a bedtime snack.”

Gaylene said she would take a trip to Scotland with her family and Jason said if he believed in all this, he'd already be in Hawaii.

Arlyssa in Swift Current says her family would be her number one concern.

“Spend as much time with my daughter as possible and probably cross a few things off my bucket list,” she said.

Not surprisingly, when asked a question with such finality - family was certainly on people's minds... 

Tim said he would take his wife to their favourite winter spot and enjoy some wine. Meanwhile Damien said the very last thing he would do is tell his wife he loved her.

Today the Maya Long Count calendar reads '13.0.0.0.0' ('thirteen b'aktun') for the first time in 5,125 years, believed by some to mark the end of civilisation. Our correspondents report preparations for the apocalypse around the world, and speculate about how and when the Earth will meet its inevitable doom. The world will not end today, but it's only a matter of time

A Mayan urn from Guatemala (900-1250) in the Maya Code exhibition at the Linden-Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Defying the end of the world, the exhibition opened on Friday and will run until 2 June 2013

If you believe the Levada Centre, a Russian pollster, only 14 per cent of Russians believe the world will end today. It feels like a whole lot more. I took a cab to the office today (it's -21C), and my driver couldn't hold back: “At first I thought this end of the world talk was all nonsense. Then I started thinking last night: what if everyone's right? I didn't sleep at all.”

Ruslan Makaev, on the other hand, began preparing early. The 64-year-old pensioner started building an underground bunker in his backyard in the southern city of Vladikavkaz nine years ago. It's meant to fit 20 people and hold enough supplies to last them all two months. The only problem is, he didn't finish in time for the apocalypse. “I wanted to finish it this year, but didn't manage,” he told Life News, a Russian tabloid. Now Makaev plans to finish it by 2014 when, he says, WWIII is set to begin.

In the picturesque village of Sergeyev Posad, outside Moscow, investigators blamed the death of Galina Shiryaeva, 73, on spiralling rumours about the coming apocalypse. The pensioner reportedly threw herself from her 13th floor window on Thursday evening.

“Investigators immediately proposed that the pensioner might have taken her own life because of the multiple TV programmes and newspaper articles about the coming end of the world,” a local newspaper wrote.

Others tried to be more encouraging. A top story in Moskovsky Komsomolets, one of Russia's most popular tabloids, began: “If you are reading these words right now, it means you are still alive.”

BBC Could We Really Be Heading For The Last Day On Earth

Songs For The End of the World

Dec. 20, 2012 - For those of you who believe that the world will end tomorrow, here are some videos to help you relax. I mean, you might as well party, right?