Friday the 13th

Once again it is Friday the 13^th! While some people consider this day to be bad luck, it has never been more than an interesting day of note to me.

There are various reasons why people fear or consider the number 13 to be unlucky. Going way back, these two may possibly have something to do with it. In Norse mythology there is a story of twelve gods having a dinner in Valhalla. Loki, the trickster god wasn’t invited but showed up anyway, making it 13. He caused the death of another one of the gods and the world went dark. It was a bad day! Another theory involves the last supper.  There were twelve disciples and Christ making it 13. Judas the one who betrayed Christ is said to be the 13^th, even though the bible never mentions that fact.

When the day and the number joined I don’t know.

In the UK a survey was done which showed there was less chance of getting in an accident on that date as compared to any other. Another survey showed that there was over a 50% chance of getting into an accident on that day. It makes you wonder where they got their statistics!

Cruise ships rarely have a 13^th deck. Hotels and buildings often skip over the 13^th floor. I figure, even though it is called the 14^th floor, it is still the 13^th! You can’t fool me!

Some places and countries consider the number 13 to be lucky. It is considered good luck in Italy except when it involves the number of guests sitting around a dinner table. At Colgate University the number 13 is considered lucky because the school was started with $13 and 13 prayers. Friday the 13^th is considered a good luck day there.

It has been suggested that between 800-900 million dollars is lost every Friday the 13^th. This is due to avoidance of traveling, changing wedding plans, moving and so forth.

In case you are wondering about the math involved with this day, here are a few facts. The most often a Friday the 13^th can occur in a year is three times. There will always be at least one Friday the 13^th every year. If the month starts with a Sunday, there will be a Friday the 13^th in it.

Consecutive Friday the 13ths happen in February and March, as long as it isn’t a leap year. The longest we can go without a Friday the 13^th is 14 months. This year, 2021, we will have only one, today.

One of my favorite words is Triskaidekaphobia, meaning “fear or avoidance of the number 13”. Some people might fear the word itself when they attempt to pronounce it! There is also a word to describe a fear of Friday the 13^th. It is Paraskevidekatriaphobia. WOW, imagine playing that word in a Scrabble game. (I haven’t even tried to pronounce it) I wonder if there is a word that describes a love of the number 13? I’ll have to search for that!

Myself, I never worried about the number or the day. Years ago, AMB and I took a road trip on a Friday the 13^th taking pictures of the number 13. We had a great day driving around SW Pennsylvania. Luckily, we didn’t experience any bad luck that day!

The number really doesn’t matter; I just know it never bothered me. Today has gone well and I expect it will for the rest of the day.

Hope yours went well also!