Friday, the 13th. Do you think...........?

Question

.....is really unlucky and ominous? Do you think each time it occurs, something bad happens?

Well FYI, October 2006 is gonna have one. Take care.

Answer 1

My most beautiful daugher was born Friday 13th at 12:20pm. She was God's best gift to me!

There is really no good luck or bad luck, just blessings and trials from an ever-loving God.

May He bless you!

Answer 2

A Friday occurring on the 13th day of any month is considered to be a day of bad luck in English-speaking cultures around the globe. Similar superstitions exist in some other traditions. In Greece and Spain, for example, Tuesday the 13th takes the same role. The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia, paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia, a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a phobia (fear) of the number thirteen.

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. This theory appears in the factcomic Uncle Scrooge and The Crown Of The Crusader Kings[1] by Don Rosa. 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.

Strangely, there is evidence to suggest that Friday the 13th is actually unlucky for some. Psychologists have found that some people are especially likely to have accidents or fall ill on Friday the 13th. This has been attributed to such people feeling a heightened state of anxiety on that day. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina estimates that in the United States alone, $800 or $900 million is lost in business each Friday the 13th because some people will not travel or go to work. [2]

The date is also well-known in the motorcycle (biker) community: since 1981, motorcycle enthusiasts and vendors gather every Friday the 13th in Port Dover, Ontario, Canada. This tradition started on November 13, 1981 by Chris Simons as a gathering of approximately 25 friends. The event has grown substantially, with an estimated 100,000 people attending in August 2004, as well as music bands, vendors, a bike show, etc.

In the Spanish-speaking world, it is Tuesday the 13th (as well as Tuesdays in general) that brings bad luck; a proverb runs En martes, ni te cases ni te embarques (on Tuesday, neither get married nor start a journey).

However it is merely superstitious and has no scientific evidence.

Answer 3

Lots of uncanny and unlucky things have happened on this date and any association with this number, i.e. the Apollo 13 mission went wrong, the 13 stripes on the US flag which represented the 13 colonys of the time were also under distress from the throne of England, and of course, your "unlucky" Friday the 13th which came to become because the number 13 had many bad days.

Answer 4

There are a couple of explanations as to why Friday the 13th is considered unlucky. First, some people are afraid of Fridays, and others of the number 13, so it's considered doubly bad. Second, it truly was unlucky for one group--the Knights Templar. They were one of the largest, most famous groups of the Crusades, and they were very rich. The King of France wanted them destroyed, so he could get their money, and he had a lot of control over the pope. He got the pope to send out notices to people which were not to be opened until Friday 13th, and which instructed the bearers of the notes to kill them. Overnight, the organization was destroyed, though some knights did escape. And the king didn't get his way--they never did find the riches of the Knights Templar.

Answer 5

OMG! this October.. i think that F13 has made me unlucky before. And even if it not 13, Friday is so disgusting. Or if on Friday something very good happen, expect the worst on Saturday. I have my blog which discussed an experiece with Friday. Plus the number 13. other entries are in native language. Are you familiar with friendster. Search for "[e-mail]" and view my blog. Disregard the Tagalog entries if you don't understand. August archives are in Filipino language. Others are in English. Enjoy reading.

Answer 6

If you believe Friday the 13th is unlucky then I guess it is, I just don't think about it and everything is OK. Hope your's is a good day.

Answer 7

Well my daughter was born on the 13th and has had Friday the 13th birthday's. So, to me Friday the 13th is not unlucky b/c I have a wonderful child who is happy, healthy and smart. And my lucky number is also 13.

Answer 8

not at all. i'm not sure the story but the reason they say its unlucky is becuz something a long time ago happen on fri. the 13th . actually a couple times.maybe u should ask what happened on that day in history made us think of it as a bad , unlucky day

Answer 9

The first movie didn't feature any killings by Jason Vorhees. His mom did all of the killing, except for Betsy Palmer's character. Jason started slashing in part 2!

Answer 10

My dad believes in the "curse" of Friday the 13th. He was in a car accident in high school, drafted into the army (Vietnam), his mom was diagnosed with cancer, and dad died of a heart attack all on Friday the 13ths......pretty bad, eh? His mom actually died on a 13th, too, but it wasn't a Friday. I thought he was making this up to spook me out, but I checked on it.......he just has a bad luck connection with that day!