December 21, 2012, is a day that has been circled on the calendars of conspiracy theorists and doomsday soothsayers for quite some time now. That's the day that the Mayan Calendar comes to an end, which has led some to believe that the world will be snuffed out along with it. If you buy into any of these theories, you're probably already preparing for the end in whatever way you find most suitable, whether that means finding peace with your maker or preparing to party like it is literally your last day on Earth.

Before you do anything too rash, like go on a "there is no tomorrow" shopping spree or give away all of your worldly possessions, you may want to have a look at this video. It comes our way courtesy of NASA and explains in four short minutes exactly why the world isn't coming to an end next week. It turns out that much like our own modern calendar, the Mayan version isn't actually ending so much as it's just rolling over to begin again. The rocket scientists (no, really they are!) at the space agency are so confident that we'll all be here the day after the predicted cataclysmic event that they've even post-dated the video for December 22.

This is good news for anyone who has been reluctant to make any long-term plans for post 12/21/2012. If you've been holding off on booking that trip for next year or even buying gifts for the holidays, I think it's safe to say you can feel free to go out on a limb. NASA has you covered.

[Photo Credit: Kraig Becker]

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