Is 2012 the Last Daytona Beach Spring Break Ever?
DaytonaBreak.com encourages students to make the most of their Spring Break in 2012 because--according to the Mayan Calendar--it could be their last.
Online, December 12, 2011 (Newswire.com) - With the approach of 2012, authors and pundits have been making headlines as they explore the idea that the Mayan Calendar predicts the end of the world in the coming year. In Daytona Beach, Florida, some are wondering if this predicition--along with scores of students ready for one last beach party--will make for the biggest Spring Break turnout in some time.
DaytonaBreak.com--a web site that promotes Spring Break in Daytona Beach--is quoting journalists like Lawrence Joseph, author of Apolocalypse 2012, who predict catastrophe based on unique upcoming astronomical events. According to Joseph, "Whatever energy typically streams to Earth from the center of the Milky Way will be disrupted" in 2012. Suggesting that next year will be the last Daytona Beach Spring Break ever may seem strange, but 2012 has been no stranger to wild speculation in the media.
The source of the popular intrigue with 2012 has been the Mayan "long count" calendar, which according to Ian O'Neill of Discovery News, was used to track events over long periods of history and which doesn't track dates past next year. This has led to an enslaught of books, articles and websites suggesting an upcoming apocalypse, culminating in a 2009 film starring John Cusack.
But is there any truth to the predictions? Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advacement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Florida, doubts the claims. "For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle," says Noble.
That doesn't stop Scott Edwards of the Daytona Beach Welcome Center from wondering. "While many will tell you Spring Break in Daytona Beach this year will be out of this world, the Mayan Calendar says it could be the end of the world," quipps Edwards.
But will more college students travel to Daytona this spring due to this doomsday prediction? "Inquiries and bookings are very strong. If this turn out to be a busier Spring Break, I guess we can thank the folks from South America who put that calendar together 5000 years ago."