Memories

A Friday occurring on the 13th day of any month is considered to be a day of bad luck in English, German, Polish and Portuguese-speaking cultures around the globe. Similar superstitions exist in some other traditions. The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia (a word that is derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Παρασκευή, δεκατρείς, and φοβία, meaning Friday, thirteen, and phobia respectively.

History of Friday the 13th

• Some claim that it is biblical. Thirteen gathered in the upper room on the night of the Last Supper.

‘And in the evening he cometh with the twelve. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.’ (Mark 14: 17-18). ‘Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot . . for he it was that should betray him.’ (John 6: 70-71).  Judas was the thirteenth guest.  He betrayed Jesus Christ, setting the stage for the Crucifixion, which took place on a Friday.

• Some say Friday’s bad reputation goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. It was on a Friday, supposedly, that Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit. Adam bit, and they were both ejected from Paradise. Tradition also holds that the Great Flood began on a Friday; God tongue-tied the builders of the Tower of Babel on a Friday; the Temple of Solomon was destroyed on a Friday
• Some claimed it started on Friday, October 13, 1307, the date that many Knights Templar were simultaneously arrested in France, by agents of King Philip IV. Templar sympathizers cursed the day itself, condemning it as evil–Friday the thirteenth–whose reputation never recovered.

P.S. – The link between Friday the 13th and The Last Supper is not possible, for the idea goes back centuries earlier. As a matter of fact, this was not an isolated case of at thirteen at table, for Christ and the chosen disciples worked together regularly every day, and must, surely, have risked the fateful thirteen many thousands of times.

Friday the 13th - The Most Widespread Superstition?

• It’s been estimated that [U.S] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do,"
• "Friday 13th is unlucky for some. The risk of hospital admission as a result of a transport accident may be increased by as much as 52 percent. Staying at home is recommended."
• It is said: If 13 people sit down to dinner together, all will die within the year.
• The Turks so disliked the number 13 that it was practically expunged from their vocabulary (Brewer, 1894).
• Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue. Many buildings don’t have a 13th floor.
• If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil’s luck (Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names).  (I just realized: LOW CHUAN HERNG!!! :p)
• Never change your bed on Friday; it will bring bad dreams.
• Don’t start a trip on Friday or you will have misfortune.
• If you cut your nails on Friday, you cut them for sorrow.
• The registration of Princess Margaret’s birth was delayed so that she would not be entered as number thirteen.

Myth?
The distribution of the 13th day of the coming 4,800 months is as follows:

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
687	685	685	687	684	688	684

There are almost as many 13th any other days as 13th Friday, slight variation due to presence of leap year.

No one has been able to document the existence of such beliefs prior to the 19th century. Going back a hundred years, Friday the 13th doesn’t even merit a mention in E. Cobham Brewer’s voluminous 1898 edition of the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, though one does find entries for "Friday, an Unlucky Day" and "Thirteen Unlucky."

Unlucky Friday + Unlucky 13 = Unluckier Friday?

Imagine a Friday the 13th on which one breaks a mirror, walks under a ladder, spills the salt, and spies a black cat crossing one’s path?!

Cheers!

Resources: Friday the 13th - Wikipedia, About.com

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 12th, 2007 at 8:39 pm and is filed under Beliefs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.