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The sky is falling!
By Lu Qianwen Source:Global Times Published: 2012-12-12 19:30:13
Bugarach, France
Believe it or not, the day is finally coming, the legendary December 21, 2012, or "end of the world" according to the Mayan calendar in the blockbuster 2012 that premiered in 2009. Since then, a bunch of end-of-the-world sayings and ideas have sprung up, and of course, most of them are used to advertise something like survival gear.
Interpretations about the Mayan calendar are varied, and some of them, though spread through films and media, are distorted, claiming that the ancient Mayan civilization predicted doomsday long ago.
Now as the fateful day is fast upon us, we see more and more professionals, scientists and even local Mayan people clarifying that the so-called "end of the world" is merely the end of one era and the beginning of a new one - not the impending destruction of our planet.
Still, the idea is riding another high wave of popularity toward the imminent day. Now people are taking it more as a fun bit of entertainment, rather than something sad and hopeless as depicted on the big screen.
Interpretations about the Mayan calendar are varied, and some of them, though spread through films and media, are distorted, claiming that the ancient Mayan civilization predicted doomsday long ago.
Now as the fateful day is fast upon us, we see more and more professionals, scientists and even local Mayan people clarifying that the so-called "end of the world" is merely the end of one era and the beginning of a new one - not the impending destruction of our planet.
Still, the idea is riding another high wave of popularity toward the imminent day. Now people are taking it more as a fun bit of entertainment, rather than something sad and hopeless as depicted on the big screen.
Final sales
If anyone takes the "end-of-the-world" saying as a serious thing, it would be the group of writers who have published books that might make you wonder if it's really true. In some domestic bookstores there are sections devoted to various "end-of-the-world" themed books like The Truth of Mayan's Prophecy, Survival Tips for the End of the World, and Savages of the End of the World.
At the Tao Bookstore on Fuzhou Road in Shanghai, there are dozens of books related to this subject. "Their sales are not bad," an employee at the bookstore said to Shanghai Youth Daily. According to the employee, these books rely on people's curiosity and fear about the misunderstood date.
However, not everybody is interested in those books. At Beijing's Wangfujing Bookstore, no more than five "end-of-the-world" themed selections are on display, and few people stop by to flip through them.
"Those books aren't selling very well," an employee at the Wangfujing Bookstore told Global Times, "We don't know whether to keep them or remove them when that day is past," she said.
Actually publishing is only one of the many industries banging out the "end-of-the-world" beat in order to drum up more business.
Each year the current period is supposed to be an off season for tourism. However, this year, travel agencies are pitching slogans like "In these last days, people should tour the places they've always wanted to visit but have never had the chance to," or "Go to the safest places when the big day arrives!" The advertising campaigns have made many people begin to get fidgety.
Air tickets also have seen a steep drop compared to hot seasons, with some special offers lowered to only 20 percent of their normal prices.
"Besides the steep drop in air tickets, we plan to offer more preferences to our customers to encourage them to go out," said Li Chao, manager of the ticket business at kuxun.cn, a leading online tourism agency in China. "If this is the last winter we'll experience, we can't have regrets."
On the Internet, a small village in southwest France called Bugarach suddenly became a hot spot because the Bugarach Mountain there is believed to be the only safe haven when the "end-of-the-world" day arrives on December 21. French police even announced that they are prepared to block the mountainous area and implement traffic control around the village for safety consideration in case too many people pour into the area on that day.
If anyone takes the "end-of-the-world" saying as a serious thing, it would be the group of writers who have published books that might make you wonder if it's really true. In some domestic bookstores there are sections devoted to various "end-of-the-world" themed books like The Truth of Mayan's Prophecy, Survival Tips for the End of the World, and Savages of the End of the World.
At the Tao Bookstore on Fuzhou Road in Shanghai, there are dozens of books related to this subject. "Their sales are not bad," an employee at the bookstore said to Shanghai Youth Daily. According to the employee, these books rely on people's curiosity and fear about the misunderstood date.
However, not everybody is interested in those books. At Beijing's Wangfujing Bookstore, no more than five "end-of-the-world" themed selections are on display, and few people stop by to flip through them.
"Those books aren't selling very well," an employee at the Wangfujing Bookstore told Global Times, "We don't know whether to keep them or remove them when that day is past," she said.
Actually publishing is only one of the many industries banging out the "end-of-the-world" beat in order to drum up more business.
Each year the current period is supposed to be an off season for tourism. However, this year, travel agencies are pitching slogans like "In these last days, people should tour the places they've always wanted to visit but have never had the chance to," or "Go to the safest places when the big day arrives!" The advertising campaigns have made many people begin to get fidgety.
Air tickets also have seen a steep drop compared to hot seasons, with some special offers lowered to only 20 percent of their normal prices.
"Besides the steep drop in air tickets, we plan to offer more preferences to our customers to encourage them to go out," said Li Chao, manager of the ticket business at kuxun.cn, a leading online tourism agency in China. "If this is the last winter we'll experience, we can't have regrets."
On the Internet, a small village in southwest France called Bugarach suddenly became a hot spot because the Bugarach Mountain there is believed to be the only safe haven when the "end-of-the-world" day arrives on December 21. French police even announced that they are prepared to block the mountainous area and implement traffic control around the village for safety consideration in case too many people pour into the area on that day.
Doomsday holiday?
It may be serious when it comes to business, but for most white-collars sitting in the office, the concept is just used for fun - with some unexpected surprises thrown in.
A widely circulated weibo posting on the Internet recently was a holiday notice from the manager of Higgses Internet Company in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. It says that in light of the special significance of the upcoming day, the company has decided to give two days off for employees as their "end-of-the-world" holiday and encouraged them to spend more time with their families.
"I just posted it to share with my friends and hadn't expected it would catch so much attention," said Deng Xiangyun, general manager of Higgses and writer of the holiday posting on weibo.
"I don't believe what they say about the end-of-the-world coming on December 21," said Deng, "The reason we made such a decision is because we thought many employees may not be totally focused on their job when they come to work on that day," he explained.
"So, instead we think it is better for them to take this as a holiday and spend more time with their parents and families, to cherish the so-called 'end-of-the-world' day," said Deng.
And like so many things on the Internet, this holiday notice sparked a bigger effect, with the news spreading that other companies in different cities including Wuhan in Hubei Province, and Nanjing in Jiangsu Province have followed suit. It even goes further: One company decided to give out its year-end bonuses earlier than usual, in mid December.
It may be serious when it comes to business, but for most white-collars sitting in the office, the concept is just used for fun - with some unexpected surprises thrown in.
A widely circulated weibo posting on the Internet recently was a holiday notice from the manager of Higgses Internet Company in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. It says that in light of the special significance of the upcoming day, the company has decided to give two days off for employees as their "end-of-the-world" holiday and encouraged them to spend more time with their families.
"I just posted it to share with my friends and hadn't expected it would catch so much attention," said Deng Xiangyun, general manager of Higgses and writer of the holiday posting on weibo.
"I don't believe what they say about the end-of-the-world coming on December 21," said Deng, "The reason we made such a decision is because we thought many employees may not be totally focused on their job when they come to work on that day," he explained.
"So, instead we think it is better for them to take this as a holiday and spend more time with their parents and families, to cherish the so-called 'end-of-the-world' day," said Deng.
And like so many things on the Internet, this holiday notice sparked a bigger effect, with the news spreading that other companies in different cities including Wuhan in Hubei Province, and Nanjing in Jiangsu Province have followed suit. It even goes further: One company decided to give out its year-end bonuses earlier than usual, in mid December.
Don't take it seriously
At the same time, various amusing and even ridiculous incidents relating to the "end-of-the-world" saying are happening every day. Recently, a rumor claiming that the Earth will be dark for three consecutive days when December 21 arrives spread widely in Sichuan Province. Many local people believed it blindly and rushed to buy candles and matches, even leading to the shortage of candles in the market.
In Nanjing of Jiangsu Province, a female resident surnamed Jiang mortgaged her house for more than 1 million yuan ($160,000) and then donated all the money to charities since she believes the "end of the world" will come soon and she should do something meaningful. While her gift may be a worthy cause for society, it brings a lot of trouble to her middle-class family.
Also, if you log on to taobao.com (a widely used B2C online website in China) and input key words "end of the world," there are over 30,000 items that show up for sale such as a related steamer ticket, posters, a model of Noah's ark and a selection of crazy doomsday party tickets.
"All those theories about the end of the world are not scientifically proven," said Wang Sichao, a researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Nanjing. "There have been dozens of 'end-of-the-world' prophecies during the past two centuries, but every time it turns out to be the end of those prophecies."
But the existence of those prophecies, Wang added, "are turning mankind's fear and anxiety into the research powers of science, and the possibility of them being true in the future remind us to respect and coexist peacefully with nature."
At the same time, various amusing and even ridiculous incidents relating to the "end-of-the-world" saying are happening every day. Recently, a rumor claiming that the Earth will be dark for three consecutive days when December 21 arrives spread widely in Sichuan Province. Many local people believed it blindly and rushed to buy candles and matches, even leading to the shortage of candles in the market.
In Nanjing of Jiangsu Province, a female resident surnamed Jiang mortgaged her house for more than 1 million yuan ($160,000) and then donated all the money to charities since she believes the "end of the world" will come soon and she should do something meaningful. While her gift may be a worthy cause for society, it brings a lot of trouble to her middle-class family.
Also, if you log on to taobao.com (a widely used B2C online website in China) and input key words "end of the world," there are over 30,000 items that show up for sale such as a related steamer ticket, posters, a model of Noah's ark and a selection of crazy doomsday party tickets.
"All those theories about the end of the world are not scientifically proven," said Wang Sichao, a researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Nanjing. "There have been dozens of 'end-of-the-world' prophecies during the past two centuries, but every time it turns out to be the end of those prophecies."
But the existence of those prophecies, Wang added, "are turning mankind's fear and anxiety into the research powers of science, and the possibility of them being true in the future remind us to respect and coexist peacefully with nature."
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