Friday 13th is considered to be an unlucky day (Image: Getty)
The dreaded Friday 13th is often cited as the unluckiest day in the calendar, but many are clueless about why.
A query circled around social media recently: “Explain like I’m five: Why is Friday the 13th considered bad luck? I’m familiar with the movies, but when/where/how/why did ‘Friday the 13th’ get its bad rap?”
Thankfully, there is meaning behind the superstition that clears this query up.
A Norse myth lies at the heart of the number 13’s misfortune, recounting a tale of 12 deities dining in Valhalla. Trouble started when Loki, the trickster god, gatecrashed as the thirteenth intruder and engineered the death of Balder, the god of joy, using a mistletoe-laced arrow.
This sinister lore supposedly cast a shadow over the number 13, making it synonymous with misfortune.
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For Christians, too, the number 13 conjures unease, linked to the Last Supper and crucifixion, where Jesus and his 12 disciples dined on the 13th of Nisan Maundy Thursday, marking a day marred by betrayal.
It wasn’t until well into the 19th century that Friday the 13th became specifically branded as a day of dread. This fear has been fed by a myriad of ill-fated incidents throughout history occurring on various iterations of this date.
History.com highlights one notorious episode on Friday, October 13, 1307, involving King Philip IV of France launching a brutal crackdown against the revered Knights Templar, shaking medieval society.
Many Templars found themselves imprisoned on accusations of illicit activities, though it’s speculated that King Philip IV of France had his eyes set on their vast fortune; executions followed for some.
This dark chapter is often connected to the bad luck myth of Friday the 13th, but the true origins of this superstition remain a mystery.
Friday the 13th has witnessed its fair share of calamities throughout modern history, including the Luftwaffe’s bombs dropping on Buckingham Palace in September 1940; Kitty Genovese’s horrific murder in Queens, New York, in March 1964; a devastating cyclone in Bangladesh that took over 300,000 lives in November 1970; the disappearance of a Chilean Air Force plane in the Andes in October 1972; the untimely passing of rapper Tupac Shakur in September 1996; and the tragic Costa Concordia shipwreck off Italy’s coast resulting in 30 fatalities in January 2012.
A Reddit user offered their take: “It’s a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus, which took place on a Friday. He was betrayed by one of the attendants of the Last Supper, famously being the 13th person at that table.”
Complementing that theory, another surmised: “Its been my understanding that Friday the 13th was the day Phillip the Fair took down the Order of the Knights Templar.”
Contributing to the discussion, someone else noted: “It is the date in which the leading members of the knight templars were arrested in France.”
While the number 13 is deemed unlucky in some cultures, it is not the same for everyone.
In some interpretations, the number 13 can be considered lucky because the word for 13 (“shi san”) can sound like “definitely vibrant” or “assured growth” in Mandarin Chinese, depending on pronunciation. Numbers that sound positive or auspicious are often seen as good omens in Chinese numerology.
In Italy, the number 13 is often viewed as a symbol of good luck, particularly in some gambling games and traditional beliefs. Italians sometimes consider 17, not 13, to be the unlucky number.
In Jewish tradition, the number 13 has positive associations. It symbolises unity and love in Kabbalistic (Jewish mystical) thought.
Meanwhile, in Hinduism the digit can have auspicious significance depending on the context, especially during certain ceremonies and festivals. For example, the festival of Trayodashi (the 13th lunar day of the Hindu calendar) is considered holy.
In Aztec culture, the number 13 was considered sacred and highly significant. Their calendar systems were based on units of 13, and it represented completion and the connection with the divine. It was tied to spiritual significance and cosmic energy.
While the belief in whether 13 is lucky or unlucky varies widely across cultures, it’s important to recognise that context, numerology, and historical background influence these attitudes. In many non-Western societies, 13 does not carry the same superstitions as in the West.