Predicted and scheduled events

January

• January 1 - Poland, Bulgaria, and Latvia are set to adopt the Euro.
• January 15 - Presidential elections in Finland.
• January 31 - 433 Eros, the second-largest Near Earth Object on record (size 13x13x33 km) will pass Earth at . NASA studied Eros with the NEAR Shoemaker probe launched on 1996-02-17.

February

• February 5 - Super Bowl XLVI will be played at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• February 6 - Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. A series of festivities across the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations will likely run throughout the year.

April

• April 1 - The United States Census of 1940 data is released to the public.
• April 17 - The United States will cede wartime control of the military of the Republic of Korea after 50 years and dissolve the Combined Forces Command. Two distinct military commands (South Korea and the United States) will operate in Korea during wartime, rather than one unified command under the Combined Forces Command.

May

• May - French Presidential election (if the incumbent's term had normally finished in May).
• May - Irish general election is due to be held if the current government remains in office for a full term.
• May 20 - Annular solar eclipse, a Sunday.

June

• June 6 - The second and last solar transit of Venus of the century. The next pair is predicted to occur in 2117 and 2125.
• June 9 – July 1 - The 2012 European Football Championship will be played in Poland and Ukraine.

July

• July 1 - Presidential Elections in Mexico.
• July 27 - Opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics begins in London at 7:30 pm UTC, 8:30pm BST.
• July 18 to July 21 - The 2012 World Rowing Championships will be held at Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

August

• August 12 - Closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, a Sunday.
• August 29 - Start of the 2012 Summer Paralympics.

September

• September 9 - End of the 2012 Summer Paralympics.

October

• October 19 - at 01:36 UTC, the Earth will be home to 7 billion people, according to the US Census Bureau.

November

• November 6 - The United States Presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives elections.
• November 6 - Puerto Rico general election.
• November 13 - Total solar eclipse (visible in northern Australia and the South Pacific).
• November 16 - The launch of the Boeing BSS-702, a DirecTv Satellite.
• November 28 - Penumbral lunar eclipse.

December

• December - Presidential elections in South Korea to elect the 18th President.
• December 1 - The next President of Mexico will be inaugurated.
• December 3 - Jupiter oppositions.
• December 21 - 11:11 UTC. Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.
• December 21 — The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, notably used by the Maya civilization among others of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, completes its thirteenth b'ak'tun cycle since the calendar's mythical starting point (equivalent to August 11, 3114 BC in the proleptic Gregorian calendar, according to the "GMT-correlation" JDN= 584283). The Long Count b'ak'tun date of this starting point (13.0.0.0.0) is repeated, for the first time in a span of approximately 5,125 solar years. The significance of this period-ending to the pre-Columbian Maya themselves is unclear, and there is an incomplete inscription (Tortuguero Monument 6) that records this date. It is also to be found carved on the walls of the Temple of Inscriptions in Palenque, where it functions as a base date from which other dates are computed. This date figures prominently in the religious syncretism of New Age Mayanism.
• December 23 - The alternative date for the completion of the thirteenth b'ak'tun cycle in the Maya calendar, using a version of the GMT-correlation based on a JDN of 584285 (a.k.a. the "astronomical" or "Lounsbury correlation"), which is supported by a smaller number of Mayanist researchers.
• December 31 - The Kyoto Protocol will expire.

Unknown dates

• Trinidad and Tobago will hold their general elections.
• Jamaica will hold its general elections.
• The Replacement Eastern Span of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge will open to traffic, replacing the old Eastern cantilever span that was damaged in the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989, almost a quarter century (23 years) after the span was damaged
• India's 11th Five-Year Plan (2007–2012) ends and the 12th one (2012–2017) starts.
• The United Kingdom will complete a 5-year process to cease analogue television broadcasts region-by-region, with Meridian Broadcasting, ITV London, Tyne Tees Television and UTV being the last areas to switch off analogue.
• Australia and Ireland will cease analogue television broadcasts.
• California's ban on the production of foie gras will take effect.
• China will launch the Kuafu spacecraft
• Freedom Tower in New York City: Construction will be finished.
• Sight & Sound magazine will conduct its Top Ten Films of All-Time poll for the seventh decade since 1952.
• The Hallandsas Ridge Tunnel will be completed, 17 years behind the original plan.
• The Canberra class light aircraft carriers/large amphibious ships, the largest ships ever to be operated by the Royal Australian Navy, will be in service.
• The sun will reverse its own magnetic poles during 2012 as result of reaching the end of the current 11-year sunspot cycle.
• The Canadian Navy receives the delivery of the first Joint Support Ship.
• BHP Square, a 270 metre office building in Perth, Western Australia will be completed.
• Start of the commercial operation of the first unit from the Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant II.
• Internet traffic is expected to exceed 44 Exabytes per month, according to a study by Cisco Systems.
• Pleiades, a proposed super computer build by Intel and SGI for NASA's Ames Research Center, is expected to be completed, reaching a peak performance of 10 Petaflops (10 quadrillion operations per second).
• The 108-ft Elwha Dam and 210-ft Glines Canyon Dam will be removed from the Elwha River in Washington state, marking the largest dam removal project in history.

Major religious holidays

• January 7 - Christmas Day by Julian Calendar (Celebrated by Eastern Orthodox Christians)
• February 1 - Imbolc, a Cross-quarter day (Celebrated on February 2 in some places)
• February 5 - Mawlid an Nabi - Islam
• March 8 - Purim - Judaism
• March 20 - Spring Equinox, also known as Ostara
• April 7 - Passover - Judaism
• April 8 - Easter - Christianity
• May 1 - Beltane, a Cross-quarter day
• May 27 - Shavuot - Judaism
• June 17 - Lailat al Miraj - Islam
• June 20 - Summer solstice, also known as Midsummer or Litha
• July 20 - Ramadan Begins - Islam
• August 1 - Lammas, a Cross-quarter day
• August 19 - Id al Fitr - Islam
• September 17 - Rosh Hashanah - Judaism
• September 21 - Fall Equinox, also known as Mabon
• October 1 - Sukkot - Judaism
• October 26 - Eid al-Adha, a religious festival in Islam
• November 1 - Samhain, a Cross-quarter day, Neopagan new year and Christian All Saints' Day
• November 15 - New Year - Islam
• December 9 - Hanukkah - Judaism
• December 21 - Winter solstice, also known as Yule
• December 25 - Christmas

Metaphysical predictions

2012 is claimed by some with New age beliefs to be a great year of spiritual transformation (or alternatively an apocalypse). There is disagreement among believers as to whether 2012 will see an end of civilization, or humanity will be elevated to a higher level.

Many esoteric sources interpret the completion of the thirteenth B'ak'tun cycle in the Long Count of the Maya calendar (which occurs on December 21 by the most widely held correlation) to mean there will be a major change in world order.

Astrologer John Jenkins has determined that on this date, there will be "an extremely close conjunction of the northern hemisphere winter solstice sun with the crossing point of the Galactic equator and the ecliptic", an event that will not be repeated for thousands of years.

Several authors have published works which claim that a major, world-changing event will take place in 2012:

• The 1997 book The Bible Code by Michael Drosnin claims that, according to certain algorithms of the Bible code, an asteroid or comet will collide with the Earth.
• The 2006 book 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl by Daniel Pinchbeck discusses theories of a possible global awakening to psychic connection by the year 2012, creating a noosphere.
• Patrick Geryl predicts a pole reversal. This has happened many times in the past. Geryl also predicts that the Earth will start rotating in the opposite direction, although a geomagnetic reversal does not require the Earth to change its rotation direction. He does not explain from where the required energy will come. The Earth functions as a gigantic gyroscope. The energy required to rotate the poles would be immense.
• Riley Martin claims that Biaviian aliens will allow passage aboard their 'Great Mother Ship' when the Earth is 'transformed' in 2012.
• Terence McKenna's numerological novelty theory suggests a point of singularity in which humankind will go through a great shift in consciousness.

References to 2012 in the arts

Literature

• Methuselah's Children (1941/1958) and Time Enough for Love (1973) by Robert A. Heinlein: A crucial meeting of the Howard Families takes place, following the election of Nehemiah Scudder for president of the USA. In both novels, viewpoint character Lazarus Long is asked what happened at this meeting as he is the last living eyewitness; in both novels he declines to answer. Nehemiah Scudder establishes a religious dictatorship in the USA.
• Domain (2002) and Resurrection (2000) by author Steve Alten: A fictional series that tells the events of the Gabriel twins after discovering the mystery behind 2012.
• 2012: The War for Soul by author Whitley Strieber (2007) is a fictional novel about three parallel earths and the occurrences leading up to December 21, 2012 in each as the walls between them begin to thin and allow passage through gateways to the others. A film adaptation is proposed, produced by Michael Bay.

Comics

• The Invisibles ("The Invisible Kingdom," 1999–2000): The Invisibles' "fictional" universe expands into the meta-context of the "higher universe," possibly our own.

Music

• "A Certain Shade of Green," a song from the Incubus album S.C.I.E.N.C.E., references 2012 in the following lines: Are you gonna stand around till 2012 A.D.? / What are you waiting for, a certain shade of green?. December 21, 2012 also appears to be the date when the video for the song "Warning" is supposed to take place.
• Genesis's song Get'em Out By Friday from their 1972 album Foxtrot, sets "18/9/2012" (on the printed operistic-dialog lyrics) as the date when "Genetic Control" would set a height restriction on human beings so that twice as many people could fit on real estate properties.
• "Pesky Solar Flares", by Angie Strange has lyrics relating to coronal mass ejections occurring during the Winter Solstice of 2012. The song was available as a free download on the website of the popular American conspiracy talk radio show Coast To Coast Am.
• The Hed PE song "I.F.O." (to be found on their self-titled album), which is about UFO sightings and governmental conspiracies to cover them up, references the year 2012: "Prepare to meet your maker in the skies over the pyramids / Check Stonehenge / Go ask the Mayans / 2012 soon come / I will be waitin' sayin' I told you so / When the skies are ripped open / And the mothership lands on your cynical ass". Hed PE also references 2012 in "Killing Time" from their second album Broke. Come Twenty Twelve, come twelve tribes, come twelve strands, come twelve lives Twelve steps, twelve months, twelve drug dealers
• Stones Throw Records artist Dudley Perkins released his LP, entitled 'Expressions (2012 A.U.)', in 2006
• The instrumental song "December 21, 2012" by Frodus, which appears as a B-side to their best-selling 7" vinyl single of their Devo cover "Explosions" (Released 1997).
• The Anaal Nathrakh song "Timewave Zero" is about the apparent end of the world on December 21, 2012. The lyrics are translated as "The 21st Of December, 2012, The time will come"
• The A Day To Remember song "Fast Forward to 2012" refers to the world ending in 2012 as a warning for friends to do something to prepare.
• British nu-rave outfit Klaxons sing about apocalyptic horsemen in their song "Four Horsemen Of 2012" from the 2007 album Myths of the Near Future.
• The song "2012 — Demise of the 5th Sun" by the melodic death metal band Scar Symmetry is a reference to the year 2012. "For the lines on the fractal wave / Fit the course of history / They're created to work as one till the end / When the winter solstice comes / Actualizing the prophecy / The demise in 2012 realized"
• The Testament song "3 Days in Darkness", off of The Gathering album is a song about 2012, and speaks of the earth being swallowed in molten fire.
• VNV Nation's album Praise The Fallen" has the subtitle "PTF 2012", which is also the name of a track in the album, which seems to be predominantly about an upcoming war. The song, "Honour" starts with the line, "Passive fields, January 2012..."
• Heavy metal band Burnt By The Sun's two albums both deal with prophecies concerning the year 2012.
• "2012" is the name of the 2005 album by the experimental rock band Old Time Relijun, and several songs make references to ancient Mayan culture, such as "Burial Mound" and "The King of Lost Light."
• On the band Hella's album There's No 666 in Outer Space there is a track called "2012 and Countless" in which the only words are "There's no 666 in Outer Space" repeated.
• Metal band Ewigkeit's album Radio Ixtlan has a track entitled "Live at Palenque 2012" referencing both the Mayan calendar date and the site at which the Temple of Inscriptions where it is carved.
• Canibus mentions the year 2012 and December 21, 2012 on his Poet Laureate Infinity vocals and on his 2007 album For Whom the Beat Tolls.
• Industrial metal band Hanzel und Gretyl's fifth album is called 2012: Zwanzig Zwölf referencing the belief that the world will end in this year, as foretold in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar.
• On DJ Muggs & Sick Jacken's album Legend of the Mask and the Assassin, they "prophetize" armageddon and other catastrophic events occurring in "2012 (feat. Cynic)."

Film

• I Am Legend, The events of the 2007 film take place in this year.
• 2012, An upcoming 2009 film based on significance of Mesoamerican Long Count calendar.
• Death Race, a 2008 film, references this year as the year when the U.S. economy falls.

Television

• Doctor Who
• "Dalek," 2005: A Dalek breaks loose under the Utah salt plains, and plans to kill every living thing on Earth.
• "Fear Her," 2006: The episode is set during the lead-up to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
• Futurama
• Xmas Story," 1999: The War of 2012 occurs, during which talk-show host Conan O'Brien lost his "freakishly long legs."
• Jurassic Bark," 2002; Philip J. Fry's dog Seymour dies in this year.
• The X-Files ("The Truth," 2002): On December 22, Aliens invade Earth.

Games

• Shadowrun: With the sixth Mayan world beginning, magic returns to the world in an event called "The Awakening."
• Escape 2012: The player's mission is to escape from alien captivity.
• In Dark•Matter, a campaign setting for the Alternity and D20 Modern roleplaying games, the institute that the protagonists belong to believe that 2012 will be the end of the world.
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R — Shadow of Chernobyl is set in this year
• Psychic Force 2012 is set during this year.
• In Universe at War: Earth Assault, the Hierarchy invasion on Earth begins.
• An in-game document from The Secret World contains the date 2012 circled and underlined but the significance of this is yet unknown.
• In Shattered Union, U.S. president David Jefferson Adams accepts his second term in office after the Supreme Court disqualifies all other presidential candidates.
• Events of Mega Man III, Mega Man's Soccer, Wily and Right's RockBoard and Mega Man V are set in this year.
• One of the puzzles later on in La Mulana (A freeware PC game based on many of the older MSX games released) states you need to 'walk the end year of the Aztec's Fifth Age.' The player must then light only the torches of the gates that correspond to the numbers in the year '2012'.
• The setting of Assassin's Creed is September, 2012.

Radio

• The sitcom Deep Trouble, set on a nuclear submarine, takes place in 2012.

See also

• Paradigm shift

Notes

References

Argüelles, José (1987). The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology. Bear & Company.

Drosnin, Michael (1997). The Bible Code. New York, NY: Touchstone Press.

Finley, Michael The Correlation Question. The Real Maya Prophecies: Astronomy in the Inscriptions and Codices. Maya Astronomy. (2002). Retrieved on 2007-06-04..

Houston, Stephen D. (1989). Reading the Past: Maya Glyphs. London: British Museum Publications.

Miller, Mary; and Karl Taube (1993). The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion. London: Thames & Hudson.

Morrison, Grant, and various artists (1995–2000) The Invisibles, vol. 1 issues 1–25, vol. 2 issues 1–22, vol. 3 issues 12–14. New York, NY: Vertigo Comics.

Pinchbeck, Daniel (2006). 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl. New York: Penguin Books.

Schele, Linda; and David Freidel (1990). A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya. New York: William Morrow.

Voss, Alexander (2006). Maya: Divine Kings of the Rain Forest. Cologne: Könemann.

Wagner, Elizabeth (2006). Maya: Divine Kings of the Rain Forest. Cologne: Könemann.