One of the most
commonly held superstitions in our so-called civilized, educated
society is that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, and since, in this
equation, each is held to be unlucky, added together, their sum can
only equal double trouble.
The modern basis for
the aura that surrounds Friday the 13th stems from Friday October the
13th, 1307. On this date, the Pope of the church in Rome in Conjunction
with the King of France, carried out a secret death warrant Against
"the Knights Templar". The Templars were terminated as heretics, never
again to hold the power that they had held for so long. There Grand
Master, Jacques DeMolay, was arrested and before he was killed, was
tortured and crucified.
Superstitions
swirling around Friday as being lucky or unlucky have existed since
ancient times, beginning with the northern nations. Ancient Romans
dedicated the sixth day of the week to their beautiful, but vain,
goddess Venus, so, when the Norsemen adopted the Roman method of naming
days, they naturally adopted Venus as their name for the sixth day of
the week. Their closest translation for Venus, Frigg, or Freya,
eventually evolved into Friday, a day they considered to be the
luckiest day of the week.
From a religious
standpoint, Muslims tout Friday as the day Allah created Adam, legend
has it that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, the apple, on a
Friday, and later died on a Friday, and Christians consider Friday as
the day on which Christ was crucified by the Romans.
The Scandinavian
belief that the number 13 signified bad luck sprang from their
mythological 12 demigods, who were joined by a 13th demigod, Loki, an
evil cruel one, who brought upon humans great misfortune. The number
13, in the Christian faith, is the number of parties at the Last
Supper, with the 13th guest at the table being the traitor, Judas. When
Christians combine this day and number, the combination can only hold
special significance.
Whether or not a
person considers Friday the 13th as unlucky, he or she must understand
that this superstition, as well as others, merely stem from beliefs or
practices man used, and continues to use, to explain, and to protect
himself, from events beyond his control in his complicated world. He
worked, and works only with the bag of knowledge he has on hand.
Only when factual,
scientific bases for these beliefs are unearthed, and people do not
dispel the beliefs, but instead cling to them, the beliefs become
superstitions. Today's beliefs may very well be tomorrows
superstitions. Until then, however, don't step on a crack!
Subject: Why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky? 
Wed Feb 25 2009, 18:28
