FRIDAY the 13th :scared
it is only a number that all but our stupid brains just act in fear of today!
When it comes to bad luck, there are few superstitions as pervasive in Western culture as that of Friday the 13th. Like crossing paths with a black cat and breaking a mirror, the notion of a day that can bring misfortune is deeply embedded -- even if believers can't quite explain why.
There's even a name to describe the irrational dread of the date: paraskevidekatriaphobia -- a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a fear of the number 13.
While Friday the 13th may feel like a rare phenomenon, our Gregorian calendar means that the 13th of any month is slightly more likely to fall on a Friday than any other day of the week. It is not, however, a universal superstition: In Greece and Spanish-speaking countries, it is Tuesday the 13th that is considered a day of bad luck, while in Italy, it is Friday the 17th that is met with fear.
This month, however, there is only one in the calendar: Friday, the 13th of August.
The makings of a superstition
Like many superstitions that have evolved over time and across cultures, it is difficult to pinpoint the precise origins of Friday 13th. What we do know, though, is that both Friday and the number 13 have been regarded as unlucky in certain cultures throughout history. In his book "Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things," Charles Panati traces the concept of the cursed back to Norse mythology, when Loki, the god of mischief, gate-crashed a banquet in Valhalla, bringing the number of gods in attendance to 13. Deceived by Loki, the blind god Hodr was tricked into shooting his brother Balder, the god of light, joy and goodness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow, killing him instantly.
Friends or foes? Art's long, complicated relationship with religion
From Scandinavia, Panati explains, the superstition then spread south throughout Europe, becoming well established along the Mediterranean by the start of the Christian era. It was here that the unsettling power of the numerals was cemented through the story of the Last Supper, which was attended by Jesus Christ and his disciples on Maundy Thursday. The 13th and most infamous guest to arrive, Judas Iscariot, was the disciple who betrayed Jesus, leading to his crucifixion on Good Friday.
In Biblical tradition, the concept of unlucky Fridays, stretches back even further than the crucifixion: Friday is said to be the day that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge; the day Cain murdered his brother, Abel; the day the Temple of Solomon was toppled; and the day Noah's ark set sail in the Great Flood.
It wasn't until the 19th century, however, that Friday 13th became synonymous with misfortune: As Steve Roud explains in "The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland," the combination of Friday and the number 13 is a Victorian invention. In 1907, the publication of Thomas W. Lawson's popular novel "Friday, the Thirteenth" captured the imagination with its tale of an unscrupulous broker who took advantage of the superstitions around the date to deliberately crash the stock market.
ast forward to the 1980s, and a hockey-masked killer by the name of Jason Voorhees in the slasher flick franchise "Friday the 13th" ensured notoriety. Then came Dan Brown's 2003 novel "The Da Vinci Code," which helped popularize the incorrect claim that the superstition originated with the arrests of hundreds of members of the Knights Templar on Friday, October 13, 1307.
An alternative history
Given the mass of doom-laden lore, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Friday 13th is indeed ominous. If we dig deeper, though, we also find evidence that both Fridays and the number 13 have long been regarded as a harbinger of good fortune. In pagan times, for instance, Friday was believed to have a unique association with the divine feminine. The first clue can actually be found in the weekday name Friday, which is derived from Old English and means "day of Frigg." Both Queen of Asgard and a powerful sky goddess in Norse mythology, Frigg (also known as Frigga) was associated with love, marriage and motherhood.
A brief history of female rage in art
Frigg gave protection to homes and families, maintained social order, and could weave fate as she did the clouds. She also possessed the art of prophecy, and could bestow or remove fertility. On the other hand, Freyja, the goddess of love, fertility and war with whom Frigg was often conflated, was endowed with the power to perform magic, predict the future, and determine who would die in battles, and was said to ride a chariot pulled by two black cats. These goddesses were worshiped widely across Europe and, because of these associations, Friday was considered a lucky day for marriage by Norse and Teutonic people.
it is only a number that all but our stupid brains just act in fear of today!
When it comes to bad luck, there are few superstitions as pervasive in Western culture as that of Friday the 13th. Like crossing paths with a black cat and breaking a mirror, the notion of a day that can bring misfortune is deeply embedded -- even if believers can't quite explain why.
There's even a name to describe the irrational dread of the date: paraskevidekatriaphobia -- a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a fear of the number 13.
While Friday the 13th may feel like a rare phenomenon, our Gregorian calendar means that the 13th of any month is slightly more likely to fall on a Friday than any other day of the week. It is not, however, a universal superstition: In Greece and Spanish-speaking countries, it is Tuesday the 13th that is considered a day of bad luck, while in Italy, it is Friday the 17th that is met with fear.
This month, however, there is only one in the calendar: Friday, the 13th of August.
The makings of a superstition
Like many superstitions that have evolved over time and across cultures, it is difficult to pinpoint the precise origins of Friday 13th. What we do know, though, is that both Friday and the number 13 have been regarded as unlucky in certain cultures throughout history. In his book "Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things," Charles Panati traces the concept of the cursed back to Norse mythology, when Loki, the god of mischief, gate-crashed a banquet in Valhalla, bringing the number of gods in attendance to 13. Deceived by Loki, the blind god Hodr was tricked into shooting his brother Balder, the god of light, joy and goodness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow, killing him instantly.
Friends or foes? Art's long, complicated relationship with religion
From Scandinavia, Panati explains, the superstition then spread south throughout Europe, becoming well established along the Mediterranean by the start of the Christian era. It was here that the unsettling power of the numerals was cemented through the story of the Last Supper, which was attended by Jesus Christ and his disciples on Maundy Thursday. The 13th and most infamous guest to arrive, Judas Iscariot, was the disciple who betrayed Jesus, leading to his crucifixion on Good Friday.
In Biblical tradition, the concept of unlucky Fridays, stretches back even further than the crucifixion: Friday is said to be the day that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge; the day Cain murdered his brother, Abel; the day the Temple of Solomon was toppled; and the day Noah's ark set sail in the Great Flood.
It wasn't until the 19th century, however, that Friday 13th became synonymous with misfortune: As Steve Roud explains in "The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland," the combination of Friday and the number 13 is a Victorian invention. In 1907, the publication of Thomas W. Lawson's popular novel "Friday, the Thirteenth" captured the imagination with its tale of an unscrupulous broker who took advantage of the superstitions around the date to deliberately crash the stock market.
ast forward to the 1980s, and a hockey-masked killer by the name of Jason Voorhees in the slasher flick franchise "Friday the 13th" ensured notoriety. Then came Dan Brown's 2003 novel "The Da Vinci Code," which helped popularize the incorrect claim that the superstition originated with the arrests of hundreds of members of the Knights Templar on Friday, October 13, 1307.
An alternative history
Given the mass of doom-laden lore, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Friday 13th is indeed ominous. If we dig deeper, though, we also find evidence that both Fridays and the number 13 have long been regarded as a harbinger of good fortune. In pagan times, for instance, Friday was believed to have a unique association with the divine feminine. The first clue can actually be found in the weekday name Friday, which is derived from Old English and means "day of Frigg." Both Queen of Asgard and a powerful sky goddess in Norse mythology, Frigg (also known as Frigga) was associated with love, marriage and motherhood.
A brief history of female rage in art
Frigg gave protection to homes and families, maintained social order, and could weave fate as she did the clouds. She also possessed the art of prophecy, and could bestow or remove fertility. On the other hand, Freyja, the goddess of love, fertility and war with whom Frigg was often conflated, was endowed with the power to perform magic, predict the future, and determine who would die in battles, and was said to ride a chariot pulled by two black cats. These goddesses were worshiped widely across Europe and, because of these associations, Friday was considered a lucky day for marriage by Norse and Teutonic people.
