If you asked me if I was superstitious, I would say “a little bit”.
But the reality is that at the beginning of every month I say “white rabbits” three times, which have an R in them for luck, I say hello to magpies for good karma, and that I’m more than a little careful on Friday the 13th. about what I have planned for the day.
I am not alone in my fear of this day. In fact, there’s even a name for it: paraskevidekatriaphobia.
Say I dare you after a few pints.
Where did it even come from and why are we so afraid of this particular date?
Why do people believe that Friday the 13th is unlucky?
According to the University of South Carolina, the discomfort lies in the number 13 itself. This could be partly because the feeling of 13 cancels out a sense of completeness, such as the 12 months of the year, the 12 gods of Olympus, the 12 signs of the zodiac, or the 12 apostles of Jesus.
“Thirteen contrasts with this sense of goodness and perfection,” they say.
However, it could also be related to mythology and religion, as they explained: “The number 13 can be associated with some famous but undesirable dinner guests.
“In Norse mythology, the god Loki was the 13th to arrive at a feast in Valhalla, where he tricked another attendee into killing the god Baldur. In Christianity, Judas – the apostle who betrayed Jesus – was the 13th guest at the Last Supper.
This all makes sense, but… why is Friday the 13th so unlucky?
Well, this may come as a surprise to those of us who work Monday to Friday, but Friday has actually always been considered an unlucky day. According to the BBC: “For hundreds of years, Friday was considered the unluckiest day of the week. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s famous Canterbury Tales, written in the 14th century, he says “and on Friday fell all the misfortunes”.
“In Britain, Friday was once known as Hangman’s Day because it was usually the day that people who had been sentenced to death were hanged.
Basically, the combination of an unlucky number and an unlucky day led to this cultural fear.
