Why is Friday the 13th unlucky?
Friday the 13th is a day to be approached with some trepidation if you’re a superstitious person. For many people all over the world, the day is synonymous with bad luck.
This year, there is only one Friday the 13th – which happens to be today May 13 2022.
Pop culture has referenced the date with bad luck for many years, but many people may not know why Friday 13 is “bad luck”.
Happy Anniversary #FridayThe13th! The original film in the franchise was released this day in 1980. pic.twitter.com/6CPUTPbdnZ
— Friday The 13th: The Franchise 🪓 (@F13thFranchise) May 9, 2022
Why is Friday the 13th unlucky? – different theories
There are plenty of different theories as to why Friday the 13th is considered unlucky, but the fear of the number 13 is a long-established theory. The official term for the fear of number 13 is triskaidekaphobia.
Fearing Friday the 13th has its own term, too: paraskevidekatriaphobia, or Friggatriskaidekaphobia – ‘Frigga’ being the name of the Norse goddess who inspired ‘Friday’.
Its believed that fears have stemmed from biblical origins. There were 13 people at the Last Supper – Jesus and his 12 disciples – on Maundy Thursday. Therefore the number 13 has been associated with the disciple that betrayed Jesus – Judas Escariot.
Another theory is connected to the demise of the Knights Templar, a Catholic military order in the Middle Ages. Hundreds of Knights Templar were arrested on Friday, October 13th in 1307 by the French king Philip IV.
It is said the Knights Templar were arrested on orders of Pope Clement V, who accused them of financial and moral corruption. The charges were based, it seems, on confessions extracted under torture.
Jacques de Molay, the order’s Grand Master, reportedly issued a curse on those who persecuted the Knights Templar as he faced burning at the stake in Paris.
For some, they believe this curse meant that every subsequent Friday the 13th would also deliver misfortune.
But in other countries, it’s not Friday the 13th that is considered an unlucky date. In Italy for example, Friday the 17th is the date connected to bad luck, and in Spanish folklore, it’s Tuesday the 13th.
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