Why is Friday the 13th considered to be superstitious?
2006-10-13 09:21:10 · 11 answers · asked by foxymama1 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
http://watchtower.org/e/20020801/article_01.htm
2006-10-13 10:40:02 · answer #1 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A Friday occurring on the 13th day of any month is considered to be a day of bad luck in English and Portuguese-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, a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a phobia (fear) of the number thirteen.
There have been a number of events known as "Black Fridays" in history. Usually, these events are devastating. Some historians propose that the origin of the "Black Friday" was the simultaneous arrest of hundreds of Knights Templars on October 13, 1307 (Friday), to be later tortured into admitting heresy.
Strangely, there is evidence to suggest that Friday the 13th is actually unlucky. 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 people will not fly or do business they would normally do.
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[citation needed]; a proverb runs En martes, ni te cases ni te embarques (on Tuesday, neither get married nor start a journey).
2006-10-13 09:24:23 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No one seems to know. I web searched it this am and there are all kinds of theories, some deal with Friday being unlucky and some with the number13. It appears that many cultures beieved one or both of those was in some way unlucky. The ancient Greeks, Jesus died on Friday, the Druids and others. It has evolved and is so old and widespread it seems noone knows.
2006-10-13 09:26:38 · answer #3 · answered by MUD 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I read that it comes from the "13th disciple" which was Judas Iscariot. Since Judas is infamous for selling out Jesus, it's considered to be "evil" or a bad day...
There's probably more to it...research it.
2006-10-13 09:23:34 · answer #4 · answered by incognitas8 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Templars
2006-10-13 09:22:38 · answer #5 · answered by Nicole 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
was the date when the knights templar were rounded up and slaughtered by the the then pope think it was in the 1300s
2006-10-13 09:22:56 · answer #6 · answered by jonny w 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
IT was the day me got me weiner stuck in the vaccum cleaner hose. day of very unfornutate things. Beware of vacuums.
2006-10-13 09:29:42 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Scary stuff
2006-10-13 09:29:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://www.crystalinks.com/friday13th.html
2006-10-13 09:24:01 · answer #9 · answered by parental unit 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
hope to win the lottery.
2006-10-13 09:22:28 · answer #10 · answered by s t 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋