My opinion: A few riots and suicide cults in anticipation of the event and then about 1% of the populace will be amazed when the sun comes up the next morning. The rest 99% of us will just be rolling our eyes and laughing at that 1%.
Every time I meet someone who claims the world will end then, I propose to them the following deal:
We will sign a treaty, in six copies (three for both) in which I will promise my soul to be their slave in whatever afterlife they believe in, if the world does end between 00:01 of December 20th and 23:59 December 22nd, 2012, as measured by any official and accurate clock, at any current timezone, by the Gregorian calendar in use today at western world. In return the contract bestows me, effectively at 00:01 23rd December 2012 onwards, all their material possessions and any money they have. The bequestment clause of material possessions is naturally null and void if the world does end during the aforementioned time-period between 20th and 22nd December.
I happen to carry those six duplicates of the contract, written by a qualified lawyer (man, we had laughs over that), with me every time I step out of my front door. I've yet to meet anyone willing to sign that contract. Looks like nobody is willing to put their money where their mouth is
