why is fri. 13th considered unlucky?

Answer 1

There are various theories surrounding 13. Since Christianity has had a extremely large influence on all societies as a whole, we shall look there first. At the "Final Supper" or "Last Supper" (whoever you chose to term it) there were 13 guests. Some believe Jesus to be the 13th at feast, occurring just before he was Crucified. This is a largely debatable theory, however. How does one know where to start counting? Many chose to go by the painting "The Last Supper," forgetting that this is an artist's interpretation of an event he did not attend. The painting depicts the disciples and Jesus at a table, but evidence suggests that the last supper was not conducted at a table. Rather the participants were seated on the ground where it was cooler. (The climate in Israel, at that time, suggests they would have stayed on the ground to keep cool.) Furthermore, where to start counting (when assuming the picture is accurate)? If one started with Judas, Jesus became the 13th guest. Conversely, if the count began at Jesus, it was indeed Judas who was 13. Both options would contribute to the mystique surrounding 13: Jesus, for he was killed soon after the feast, Judas for he was the betrayer of Jesus.

On an additional, though little proven, note, some have claimed to be a 13th tribe of Israel. The bible proclaims only 12, and a very high percentage of Christians and Jews deny that a 13th tribe even exist. However, a few recognize that a group had, falsely, identified themselves as a 13th tribe. The members of the "13th tribe" were labeled as "witches" and "sorcerers," an evil group who determine to destroy followers of God. Plainly, this does not lend any favor to 13, and adds more propaganda against Witchcraft. The fact that so many haven’t even heard of this 13th Tribe makes the probability of the labeling of "Witches" being accurate extremely low. (Furthermore, the low probability simply further illustrates the false propaganda Christian organizations are willing to put forth in order to label Witchcraft as evil.)

Friday the 13th comes into play when it is observed that Jesus was Crucified on a Friday. Obviously, should one chose to accept this theory, the day associated with the death of the Savior would lend to the supposed bad luck which occupies this particular date. It is said, also, that it was a Friday when Adam and Eve ate the fruit. Furthermore, Friday used to be the 6th day of the week, it was not until more recent times that it became the 5th day. 6, being the number biblically associated with man, relates to the Devil. 3 is the number of the Holy Trinity, therefore with 6 being the number of man, 666 was denoted as the number of the Beast. (A Trinity of Six, signifying the God of Man, Satan) One can hardly find this connection to Satan adding to the "good name" of Friday the 13th.

Also, any month with a Friday the 13th must begin with a Sunday the 1st. Curiosity leads one to ask if a significance lies in the observation that only months that begin with the day God decided to rest (Sunday), after "creating the world," yield a day of such supposed demonic evil and misfortune.

To the Norse Friday was the luckiest day of the week, being named after Freya, one of their Deities. Also named after Venus, in Rome and France. For Mohammedans, Friday after sunset is also the Sabbath. The implications connecting Darkness, and hence Sunset (the transition from light to dark), and Evil would indeed lend to the idea of misfortune which surrounds Friday the 13th, to those who find the Muslim path as evil and heathen. Mohammedans also say that Adam was created on a Friday. It can be seen that it is largely within the Christian ranks that Friday takes on a significant connotation of evil when teamed with the 13th.

To continue on, perhaps extending a bit further in the past than Christian influence, a mythological occurrence presents: At the banquet in Valhalla, of which there were 12 guests, Loki, God of Deceit, intruded, becoming the uninvited 13th guest. In Norse mythology, Balder was the god of light and beauty. The most beloved of the gods, he was the son of Odin and Frigg and the husband of Nanna, goddess of the Moon. Balder was killed by Loki’s treachery during the proceedings. Through Loki’s interference, the return of Balder, from the possession of Hel, was an impossible task. To return Balder, Hel demanded that all living things beg for the god’s return. All respond except a giantess, Thokk (Loki in disguise), whose refusal to weep forces Balder to remain in Hel's domain.

There are 13 members which make up a Wiccan/Pagan Coven to fully cast the Circle. 13 was sacred because it represented the amount of lunar months in year (Thirteen Full Moons). It has also been speculated that 13 was maximum # of people that could fit comfortably in a traditional Circle with a 9 foot diameter. 6 male-female couples and a priest or priestess.

Not so surprising is the understanding that 13, being a sacred number to most Pagan traditions, was therefore considered evil by early Christians. It took very little for the religious leaders to invent a dogma to counter the Pagan’s sacred number. The question can be posed: If the mystique surrounding 13 is not invented dogma, why then do hotels hold rooms labeled #666? Why is this number not also omitted? For a superstition to spread so far it must be distributed through a largely influential source, such as Christianity. Notice again, 13 is still considered good luck in Italy, home of the Roman Catholic church, which separated from the rest of Christianity due to conflicting political and theological disagreements. Moreover, Friday was considered sacred by both Norse traditions and Muslims, both which are considered enemies to Christianity. Instituting Friday the 13th as a day of evil worked to prevent losing followers to either path, utilizing fear as a binding weapon.

A recent article shows that a new superstition has been 'invented' involving the number 13. Now some serial killers has been bunched under the 13 letter group, and it goes something like this:

Jack the Ripper- 13 letters
John Wayne Gacy- 13 letters
Charles Manson- 13 letters
Jeffrey Dahmer- 13 letters
Theodore ( Ted ) Bundy- 13 letters
This latest bad press is bound to give the self-respecting normal 13s in the world an even worse time of it.

From here on, it can be seen how the "bad luck" attributed to Friday the 13th comes from peoples' assumption that the date carries evil in it's wake. Therefore, anything that goes wrong on the 13th is assumed to be the effect of some supernatural evil. The luck or unluck of any given number resides solely in the mind of the person, and within the realm of the boogie man. All the superstitions built up around Friday the 13th were political maneuvers, largely on the part of Christian religious leaders (but most definetly not the only offenders), to divert their followers minds from other spiritual paths.

Answer 2

Origins
The origin of the Friday the 13th superstition has been linked to the belief that there were 13 people at The Last Supper of Jesus, who was crucified on Good Friday, but no evidence has been found that Friday 13th was considered especially unlucky until the 19th century. The number 13, however, has a long history of association with ill-luck. It has been linked to the fact that a lunisolar calendar must have 13 months in some years, while the solar Gregorian calendar and lunar Islamic calendar always have 12 months in a year.

Another suggestion is that the belief originated in a Norse myth about twelve gods having a feast in the hall of the sea-god Aegir. The mischievous Loki gate-crashed the party as an uninvited 13th guest and arranged for Hod, the blind god of darkness, to throw a branch of mistletoe at Balder, the god of joy and gladness. Balder was killed instantly and the Earth was plunged into darkness and mourning as a result. This, however, is untenable. The original Old Norse text, the poem Lokasenna in the Edda, mentions 17 gods by name at the feast. Loki is indeed a gatecrasher, but he is not the thirteenth person present. Nor is there any link between this episode and the killing of Balder.

The first explanation, however, seems more relevant to the superstition linked to having 13 people at the same table during a meal. This, recorded at the end of the eighteenth century, is the earliest known instance of the ill-luck of 13 in Britain. The belief was that the first person to rise from the table would be the first to die.

There is also another theory that Friday the 13th of October 1307 was the day that Philip IV of France arrested and subsequenty tortured and killed hundreds of the French Knights Templar to get their money for the French treasury. One other note which predates all of the aforementioned is that the first Passover seems to have occurred on Friday the 13th. The death of the firstborns of Egypt occurred on a Shabbat on the 14th of Nisan in the evening. But the Jewish calendar counts days from sunset to sunset so this would have been Friday the 13th in terms of the gentile reckoning of the days. (Exodus 12:6) Feminists have argued that because of the lunar year and Friday being named after a goddess in most European pagan calendars, the fear of Friday the 13th is a patriarchal invention, associating femininity with bad luck.


In Spain its tuesday the 13th!

Answer 3

This superstition is made up of different myths from different cultures. The earliest explanation is linked to the belief that there were 13 people at the Last Supper of Jesus, then was crucified on Good Friday. It's also believed that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit on a Friday. Norse myth says that a 13th uninvited guest crashed the party of 12 gods, and resulted in darkness and mourning It is also believed that the Knights Templar were killed in France by the King of France on a Friday the 13th in the 14th century. The most relevant explanation of this supestition would derive from the British belief from the 18th century that when 13 people dine together at a table, the first to rise would die.

For more detailed explanations, these sites are helpful:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th.
- http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/friday_the_13th.htm.

Answer 4

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!

Answer 5

It goes back to when the Knights Templar were all rounded up and tortured into admitting heresy against the Catholic Church. It happened on Friday, October 13, 1307. I don't think it was just in France but all over Europe. Yeah, that was a long time ago...
Some were burned at the stake, including the last head of the Knights Templar, Jaques De Molay.

If you know who the Knights Templar were, you know why this was considered horrific and why this supersitition lasts until this day.

'Coincidentally', the Masonic organization has an affilated organization for young men called DeMolay (no space in between)

Answer 6

The sixth day of the week and the number 13 both have bad reputations dated back from ancient times. So when the two come together on one day the worst is expected. Some say it may be the most widespread superstition in the world. Some people won't leave their homes on Friday the 13th.

Answer 7

since the middle ages, friday was viewed as an unlucky day. on fridays, there were a lot of bad biblical things that happened ie. the Crucifixion, Eve's offering the apple to Adam in the Garden of Eden, the beginning of the Great Flood, or the confusion at the Tower of Babel. some of the kids that born on fridays were killed by their parents so that they wouldnt have to live an unlucky life.
"Now Friday came, you old wives say, Of all the week's the unluckiest day."
then 13 belongs to triskaidekaphobia, the phobia of the number 13. the "unluckiest" number.
but friday and 13 together, you have one hell of a recipe for a ridiculous superstition

Answer 8

Watch out for black cats, avoid mirrors and ladders and, by all means, don't spill the salt.



As most people probably already realize, today is Friday the 13th, a date commonly associated with bad luck.



For the next several hours, millions of superstitious individuals across the country will hold their breath anticipating misfortune. Others will avoid leaving the house altogether, refusing to drive, shop or work on the ill-fated day.



But whether you're a true triskaidekaphobe (a person with an irrational fear of Friday the 13th, also called a paraskevidekatriaphobe) or just mildly suspicious, it's probably a good idea to know just where your trepidation comes from.



Though it's hard to pinpoint the exact origins of any superstition, several Internet sites are devoted to the history of the Friday the 13th legend. And most list the same possible origins of the rumoured curse. One of the more lucid sites is David Emery's urbanlegends.about.



According to a biography on the Web site, Emery is a freelance journalist, as well as a staff writer for both a TV sitcom and a satirical newspaper. He has a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Portland (Or.) State University and completed graduate studies in philosophy and the classics at the University of Texas at Austin. He apparently has a particular interest in modern folklore and founded urbanlegends.about.com to "debunk, deconstruct and discuss the most popular tall tales and hoaxes in circulation."



While the Web site explores everything from e-mail hoaxes to dubious quotes, three pages are devoted to the history of Friday the 13th.



According to the site, the superstition is derived from myths about both Fridays and the number 13.



Fridays, for example, are hailed as a particularly significant day in the Christian tradition. Obviously, there is Good Friday, the day Jesus Christ was crucified. But according to Christian lore, Adam and Eve also supposedly ate the forbidden fruit on a Friday, the Great Flood started on a Friday, the builders of the Tower of Babel were tongue-tied on a Friday and the Temple of Solomon was destroyed on a Friday.



Of course, the Bible doesn't specifically note many these events occurring on Fridays, and Emery explains some of the tradition may have stemmed from the fact that pre-Christian pagan cultures hailed Friday as holy days. The word "Friday" is, in fact, derived from a Norse deity who was worshipped on the sixth day of the week and who represented marriage and fertility. Fridays in the early Norse culture were associated with love and considered a good day for weddings.



Over time, however, mythology transformed the Norse fertility goddess into a witch, and Fridays became an unholy Sabbath. Incidentally, the goddess' sacred animal was a cat, which may explain the legendary connection between witches and cats, as well as the superstition about black cats heralding bad luck.



In addition to the legendary significance of Fridays, the sixth day of the week also was execution day in ancient Rome and later Hangman's Day in Britain, according the Emery's Web site.



The number 13 also has mythological and religious symbolism.



Both the Hindus and Vikings reportedly had a myth in which 12 gods were invited to a gathering and Loki, the god of mischief, crashed the party and incited a riot. Tradition in both cultures holds that 13 people at a dinner party is bad luck and will end in the death of the party-goers.



Following in that vein, the Last Supper in Christian tradition hosted 13 people and one betrayed Christ, resulting in the crucifixion.



The number 13 also has been associated with death in other cultures. The ancient Egyptians, for example, believed life unfolded in 12 stages, and the 13th stage was death. The Egyptians considered death a part of their ultimate journey and looked forward to the spiritual transformation ‹ thus 13 was not an unlucky number in their culture ‹ but like so many others, the tradition warped through time and cultures, eventually associating the number 13 with a more negative and fearful interpretation of death, Emery writes.



Finally, Emery suggests the number 13 may have an unlucky connotation because of its association with the lunar calendar (there are 13 lunar cycles in a year) and with femininity (women have 13 menstrual cycles in a year).



Then, there's the event that ties the two superstitions together.



"Though it's clear that superstitions associating Fridays and the number 13 with misfortune date back to the ancient times, some sources assign the precise origin of the black spot on the day itself, Friday the 13th, to a specific historical event," adds Emery.



It was on Friday, Oct. 13, 1307, that France's King Philip IV had the Knights Templar rounded up for torture and execution. The Knights Templar were an order of warriors within the Roman Catholic Church who banded together to protect Christian travellers visiting Jerusalem in the centuries after the Crusades. The Knights eventually became a rich, powerful ‹ and allegedly corrupt order within the church and were executed for heresy.



So, who knows?



The date may be forever cursed by one event that occurred nearly 700 years ago, or by a series of cosmic coincidences.



Or it may be a figment of human beings' collective imaginations

Answer 9

I heard it was because there were 13 people at the Last Supper, the last time that Jesus was a free man before he was crucified. He was crucified on Good Friday, hence Friday the 13th being bad luck.

Answer 10

Because in Paganism, the day of the Goddess is Friday and thirteen was the number in which they worshiped. When the church came into being they declared it unlucky because they were trying to wipe out the pagans.

Answer 11

There were 13 people at the Last Supper where Judas Iscariot set off to betray Jesus Christ and he died on a Friday. However, it was not really seen as a day of 'bad luck' until the 19th century.