What’s the big deal about Friday the 13th, anyway?

It's a series of eleven campy horror movies released between 1980 and 2003 - and yes, I am aware that they re-made the original Friday the 13th in 2009, but to me, it doesn't count. Because it was awful.

 

Getting up this morning, I, of course realized that today was Friday the 13^th, but thought to myself that I never really figured out where the issue with the day came from – so I consulted my trusty friend Wikipedia and decided to put together a fun little post for all of our information!

Friday the 13^th has been considered an unlucky day for quite some time, since at least the 19^th century. There is no written information about the superstition found before that time as of yet. There are many, many theories which are used to attempt to back it up.

Numerology

The number twelve is considered a complete number, and is reflected in several things including the twelve months of the year and twelve hours of the clock. The number thirteen was originally considered to be irregular, which skews the theory of twelve being complete. As an interesting twist, there is a Norse myth that states having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners.

Unlucky Day

Since The Canterbury Tales were written in the 14^th century, Friday has been considered unlucky, especially for professionals. It is stated to be an unlucky day to undertake journeys or begin new projects. Don’t most good journeys start on a Friday? Since the 1800’s, ‘Black Friday’ has been known as a day associated with stock market crashes and other grave disasters.

Friday the 13^th also has a phobia named after it! I’ll give you absolutely nothing if you can pronounce it, but you should try anyway:

friggatriskaidekaphobia

‘Frigga’ is the name of the Norse goddess for whom “Friday” is named, and triskaidekaphobia is a fear of the number thirteen. This phobia’s name first appeared in mainstream media in 1953.

In Spanish-speaking and Italian popular culture, Tuesday the 13^th and Friday the 17^th, respectively, are considered their days of bad luck.

What does this mean for us in modern-day society? According to the Stress Management and Phobia institute in Asheville, North Carolina, 17 to 21 million people in the US are affected by a fear of Friday the 13^th, making it the most feared day and date in history.  

A lot of people use Friday the 13th as an excuse to get a tattoo - at least in my world, where 13 tattoos for $13 deals run rampant in tattoo shops everywhere.  And you know - I just might get one today myself.

Now for me, it's just another day. I just thought that perhaps you guys might have been wondering the same thing I was!