Is December 2012 really the end?

This December 2012 date that everyone seems to be worried about needs to be explained in its proper context because, frankly, there is far too much fear-mongering going on about this in the zeitgeist (Note: I don't mean the Zeitgeist DVD. Please look up the word zeitgeist, if you're not sure what it means exactly).

And what I'm referring to is the widespread belief that, apparently, December 2012 will be the end of the world. Of course, the fact that the Hollywood disaster movie 2012 inflames this belief doesn't help us one bit! But, then again, those who control Hollywood would love it if we were all scared to death about the future. Because, of course, a fearful populace is much easier to control. But we already deal with Hollywood's ploys elsewhere on the site. Here, we will will deal with what the Dec 2012 date really signifies, so that the poor people who have been deceived by the sinister "end of the world" propaganda can finally stop worrying about it...

What were the origins of this belief, in the first place?

Who were the Mayans and how much did they know?