Friday the 13th is one of the spookiest days after Halloween but the bad luck that people say happens on the day might just be a superstition. It is prevalent among so many cultures that the date can actually influence people’s behaviour.
It has inspired books, songs, and one of the most successful horror film franchises of all time. But despite giving us anxiety, the origins of this notorious date on the calendar remain largely unknown to most.
There is so much fear among people about the day due to some past happenings. Some think the day is a bad omen that causes unfortunate events, while others feel otherwise.
Here are some of the facts about Friday the 13th that most people don’t know:
1. The last supper
Part of superstition surrounding Friday the 13th comes from the Christian Bible. During the Last Supper, there were 13 guests, Jesus and his 12 apostles, one of which was Judas, who eventually betrayed him. Since then, some have believed in a superstition regarding 13 guests at a dinner table. This slowly extended to be an overall feeling that the number itself was bad luck.
Jesus’s crucifixion that took place on a Friday also makes the assumption that Friday is a bad day of the week. Taken separately, both the number 13 and Friday have since made their way into modern superstitions.
2. Norse mythology
Friday the 13th was also said to be affiliated with the Norse mythology. In the stories we heard, Loki tricked the blind god Höðr into killing his brother Baldr the god of joy and happiness, with a dart of mistletoe. Baldr’s mother, Frigg, had before ordered everything in existence to never harm her son, except the mistletoe. she viewed the mistletoe as incapable of harm.
How does 13 figure into this? Some accounts say Baldr’s death took place at a dinner held for 12 gods before Loki, the 13th and most unwanted guest interrupted it.
3. The Knights Templar
On the very unlucky Friday, October 13, 1307, Philip IV of France had members of the Templar, hundreds of members of the religious and military order, whose mission was to defend the Holy Land, arrested. He tried, tortured, and burnt many of the Knight at the stake. This subsequently led to people calling the day cursed and evil.
4. People have considered Friday an unlucky day for centuries.
Geoffrey Chaucer’s 14th-century collection of stories known as The Canterbury Tales was one of the first texts to reference Friday as a day of unfortunate occurrences with the quote, “And on a Friday fell all this mischance”.
From 1800, Fridays eventually started becoming known as a day when people did not want to partake in ordinary tasks, especially moving, getting married or starting a new job.
5. Triskaidekaphobia
When a phobia of the number 13 becomes too intense, the condition called Triskaidekaphobia. People who suffer from this can experience real physical symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing, a rapid heartbeat, sweating, and panicking.
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6. Friday the 13th has recorded many deaths
The rapper Tupac Shakur died on Friday, April 13, 1996. On Friday, September 13, 1940, the Germans bombed Buckingham Palace. On Friday, November 13, 1970, a cyclone in Bangladesh killed 300,000 people, and on October 13, 1972, a Chilean Air Force plane disappeared in the Andes.
7. The thirteen club
While many people avoid the number 13, there were others who actually embraced it. Captain William Fowler established the Thirteen Club in the late 19th century.
Having dinner parties on the thirteenth of the month, dining over thirteen candles, and eating thirteen courses were just some of the ways this group got their fix challenging the superstition head-on.
The group became so popular that even Grover Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt were members of it.
8. The novel Friday the 13th
In 1907, a stockbroker, Thomas William Lawson wrote a book titled Friday, the Thirteenth. The novel centres around a stockbroker in New York who uses the superstition of the date to his advantage on Wall Street.
The book sold fairly well at the time, moving 28,000 copies in its first week. It caused a real-life superstition among stockbrokers regarding trading and buying stocks on the 13th.
The fear among brokers was so real that a 1923 New York Times article stated that people “would no more buy or sell a share of stock today than they would walk under a ladder or kick a black cat out of their path”.
9. Hollywood got itself a sign
On Friday, July 13, 1923, the Hollywood sign was officially christened as a promotional tool for new housing development. But before the sign took on its familiar image, it initially read “Hollywoodland”. This was the full name of the development that was being built on the hills above Los Angeles.
The sign took on its current “Hollywood” look in 1949 when, after two decades of disrepair, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce decided to remove the last four letters and just maintain the first nine.
10. Some notable people were born on Friday the 13th
The Olsen Twins, who were billionaires by the time they were 18 years old were born on Friday, June 13, 1986. Comedic actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who played Elaine on Seinfeld was born on Friday, January 13, 1961, she was the first main cast member who was able to break the notorious ‘Seinfeld curse’.
Taylor Swift was born on the 13 and turned 13 on Friday.
11. There can’t be more than three in a given year
If you happen to be one of those who believe the superstition that Friday the 13th is cursed, I have great news for you. There can’t be more than three in any given year and it’s very possible to go as many as 14 months without one.
There’s an easy way to figure out if a month will have a Friday the 13th. If the month starts on a Sunday, you’re guaranteed one. For the year 2020, we get a bit of a break, as we will only have two.
12. National accident day
Since 1995, Finland has dedicated one Friday the 13th in a year to observe National Accident Day in order to raise awareness about safety on the roads, at home, and at the workplace.
13. An asteroid will fly safely by the earth
Friday, April the 13th, 2029 to be exact. When 99942 Apophis was discovered in 2004, it was thought to have a small chance of colliding with Earth. But you can rest easy because since then, scientists have revised their findings which show that there is absolutely no risk of the asteroid impacting the Earth or the Moon.
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