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    People gather in front of the Kukulkan Pyramid in Chichen Itza, Mexico, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012. American seer Star Johnsen-Moser led a whooping, dancing, drum-beating ceremony Thursday in the heart of Mayan territory to consult several of the life-sized crystal skulls, which adherents claim were passed down by the ancient Maya. (AP Photo/Israel Leal)

    People gather in front of the Kukulkan Pyramid in Chichen Itza, Mexico, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012. American seer Star Johnsen-Moser led a whooping, dancing, drum-beating ceremony Thursday in the heart of Mayan territory to consult several of the life-sized crystal skulls, which adherents claim were passed down by the ancient Maya. (AP Photo/Israel Leal)

    Mayan region launches apocalypse countdown

    Thousands of

    mystics, New Age dreamers and fans of pre-Hispanic culture have been

    drawn to Mexico in hopes of witnessing great things when the day in an

    old Maya calendar dubbed "the end of the world" dawns on Dec. 21.

    But many of today's ethnic Maya cannot understand the fuss. (AP)