What is the story behind Friday the 13th?
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What is the story behind Friday the 13th?
Throughout history, the number 13 and Friday the 13th is considered incomplete and associated with bad luck.
The history of Friday the 13th viewed as an unlucky day is a combination of cultural beliefs, religious, and historical factors over centuries. No one knows exactly how the day got its fearsome reputation. In some cultures, Friday is an unlucky day already, made worse by the number 13.
The numbers 12 and 13
In ancient traditions, the number 12 was seen as a symbol of completeness and a magic number. In mathematics, 12 is a sublime number. A sublime number is a positive integer with a perfect number of positive factors, and whose positive factors add up to another perfect number. Additionally, there are 12 months in a year, 12 zodiac signs, 12 hours a day, and 12 days of Christmas. The number 12 is the standard dozen. There are 12 inches in a foot, 12 pairs of ribs, and 12 Apostles of Jesus. Furthering the belief the number 12 signifies perfection, harmony, and order in all aspects of life.
Throughout history, the number 13 was considered cursed, incomplete, and bad luck. The number 13 was thought to be irregular, unbalanced, disruptive of 12, and chaotic because it follows the “complete” number 12.
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For some, this fear can be so severe they avoid anything dealing with the number 13 or Friday the 13th.
Friday the 13th
The fear of Friday the 13th is also known as friggatriskaidekaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia. The fear of the number 13 is known as triskaidekaphobia. For some, this fear can be so severe they avoid anything dealing with the number 13 or Friday the 13th. Negative events seem to appear more furthering the belief causing people to expect negative outcomes, events, and experiences.
Some common Friday the 13th superstitions are: Do not cross paths with a black cat, or walk under a ladder. Do not seal deals, make important decisions, or break a mirror. Some high-rise buildings, hotels, and hospitals have eliminated the 13th floor, and some airports do not have gates numbered 13.
The History of Friday the 13th
In ancient times, 12 gods were having dinner when god Loki, the trickster god, crashed the event as the 13th guest. This led to the death of Balder, the god of joy, which caused the world to fall into darkness. In Medieval Times, Fridays were avoided for starting anything new. The Code of Hammurabi eliminated a 13th law from its written legal codes. On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of hundreds of the Knights Templar. Many were tortured and executed dubbing the event, the Friday the 13th Templar Massacre.
In the tale of Sleeping Beauty, 12 out of 13 fairies were invited to the table of the king, which is why the 13th fairy cursed Sleeping Beauty to sleep for 100 years. In some cultures, there should never be a table of 13 people because one will pass away before the year is over, known as “The Last Supper Curse”. The seating arrangement at the Last Supper is a superstition that having 13 guests at a table is a bad omen.
On the 13th of Nisan Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday, 13 apostles attended the Last Supper, including Jesus. At the Last Supper, one of his apostles, Judas betrayed him. (KJV Matthew 27: 3–10). The crucifixion of Jesus took place the next day on a Friday which serves the bad luck belief of a Friday.
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On a positive note, the number 13 is sacred and powerful — especially as an Angel Number.
Friday the 13th as good luck
In ancient Pagan traditions Friday the 13th is a good luck day. A day of positive significance. On a positive note, the number 13 is sacred and powerful — especially as an Angel Number. 13 is a symbol of Divine Femininity connected to the Supreme Goddess, fertility, and the cycles of nature. The lunar calendar has 13 full moons in a year.
Friday the 13th today
The superstition of Friday the 13th expanded in the 1907 novel Friday, the Thirteenth by Thomas W. Lawson. The book tells of a broker who takes advantage of the superstition of the day to create chaos on Wall Street. The date has also inspired the horror film franchise, Friday the 13th, which began in 1980 totaling 12 films. The story is set at a summer camp on Crystal Lake, where a boy named Jason Voorhees drowned 20 years earlier. A group of camp counselors arrive to prepare for the reopening. However, on Friday the 13th, which is also Jason’s birthday, nearly all are killed.
The belief in the bad omen associated with Friday the 13th can influence people’s behavior, leading them to act more cautiously or anxiously. In the collective consciousness, this heightened anxiety can contribute to misfortunes that further perpetuate the superstition.
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