Friday the 13th

I am sure it is no surprise to most people that I love Friday the 13^th, I love it even more on the rare occasion that there is also a full moon (not this year) Many people however do not share my love of the day. In fact, there is a name for people who suffer from a phobia of Friday the 13^th it is called friggatriskaidekaphobia, and it is fairly common. This name originates from Frigg, the Norse goddess who was named for Friday and triskaidekaphobia the phobia of the number 13.

This year we have had two Friday the 13^th’s so I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the history behind this day.

It is unclear exactly where the fear of Friday the 13^th started but there is a myth that states if 13 people dine together one of the 13 will die within a year. This myth is a combination of both Christian and Norse mythology origins. During the last supper, Jesus dined with his 12 Apostles, Judas being the 13^th guest and, as we know Jesus was crucified shortly after. The Norse myth says Odin and 11 of his closest friends were dining together when Loki the god of evil and turmoil crashed the party, again making 13.

Ancient Romans believed witches gathered in groups of 12 with the Devil making 13.

13 may also appear to be unlucky because it comes right after 12. 12 is a number that historically represents completeness, anything beyond is unknown and therefore perhaps unlucky. There were 12 Disciples of Christ, 12 Gods of Olympus, 12 Tribes of Israel, Odin had 12 sons, 12 ruling Imams, 12 months of the year, 12 hours on the clock, 12 signs in the zodiac, 12 days of Christmas and 12 labors of Hercules.

Even today, many buildings do not have a 13^th floor.  Many airports do not have a gate 13, some hospitals and hotels do not have a room 13 and so on. I always pick row/seat/room 13 when I am traveling and it is available.

In Western cultures Friday has traditionally been considered an unlucky day, this is likely due to belief that the crucifixion took place on a Friday. Other religious traditions say that Eve tempted Adam with the apple on a Friday, Cain killed Able on a Friday, the flood of Noah’s ark started on a Friday, and the languages at the Tower of Babel were confused on a Friday.

Interestingly enough Friday the 13^th as an unlucky day is largely a U.K. and U.S. superstition with other countries having different superstitions. In some Spanish countries, Tuesday the 13^th instead of Friday is considered bad luck, Greeks also consider Tuesday to be a day of bad luck, especially if it happens to be the 13^th. Italian culture says Friday the 17^th is a day of bad luck. The Chinese, South Koreans and Japanese avoid the number 4; the Mandarin regions of China especially avoid the numbers 14 and 74. Afghans find the number 39 to be unlucky. Each culture has different rational for their belief, from historical events to the similarity in pronunciation of words such as death or suffering and the number.

13 interesting events surrounding Friday the 13^th.

 

10/13/1307 Homes of the Knights Templar were raided, many were imprisoned and accused of heresy and blasphemy.

9/13/1940 German bombers hit Buckingham Palace, destroying the palace chapel as part of the “Blitz” bombing.

7/13/1951 Rivers in Topeka, Lawrence and Manhattan Kansas flooded after record-breaking rain.

6/13/1952 A Swedish military plane disappeared over international waters in the Baltic Sea

3/13/1964 38 people witnessed the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese and all 38 failed to call the police. This later helped illustrate the “bystander effect” that is taught in psychology classes.

10/13/1967 President Lyndon Johnson amended an order that states the government could not discriminate based on gender. The order previously listed race, creed, color and national origin.

11/13/1970  A cyclone hit in Bangladesh killing at least 300,000 people.

10/13/1972  A plane crashed in the Andes. Twelve people died instantly and more were killed in an avalanche later. Those who survived resorted to cannibalism

10/13/1989 the stock exchange suffered a serious crash.

10/13/1989 A deadly virus crashed computers in England.

8/13/1999 Alfred Hitchcock’s 100^th birthday

10/13/2006 Nearly a half a million people were without power in Buffalo New York after 24 inches of snow fell…..In October!

10/13/2010 A 13 year old boy was struck by lightning at 13:13 in England, he survived unharmed.

If you do not love Friday the 13^th like I do you can at least take solace in knowing that the next time we will have a full moon on Friday the 13^th will be June 13, 2049.

Enjoy your day whether you spend it enjoying yourself and embracing superstition or hiding under the covers in bed, I hope it is a good one and that only good luck finds you today.