A man is "cleansed" with candles next to a sacred fire during the pre-Hispanic mass of "Segunda Conexion" (Second Connection) to commemorate the 13th bak'tun, an epoch lasting roughly 400 years, outside the Chi Ixim church in Tactic, Alta Verapaz region. On December 2, an era closes in the Maya Long Count calendar, an event that has been likened by different groups to the end of days, the start of a new, more spiritual age or a good reason to hang out at old Maya temples across Mexico and Central America. The Chi Ixim church is a sacred Mayan site.JORGE DAN LOPEZ/Reuters