Friday the 13th: Superstitions and Bad Luck Prevention

Friday, January 13th has some superstitious people watching their every move.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia (also spelled paraskavedekatriaphobia if it makes it any easier to pronounce) is the morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th.

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Why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky?

The modern basis for the aura that surrounds Friday the 13th stems from Friday October the 13th, 1307. On this date, Pope Clement V 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. The Grand Master, Jacques DeMolay, was arrested and before he was killed, was tortured and crucified. Friday the 13th superstitions have been around since ancient times. Ancient Romans dedicated the 6th day of the week to the Goddess Venus. From a religious standpoint, Muslims hold that Friday is the day Allah created Adam, as their religion says it that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit 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.

Prevent bad luck on Friday the 13th

Believing in the Friday the 13th superstitions is up to every individual, but I wouldn’t take a chance.

1. Keep your fingers crossed. This is believed to keep evil spirits from ruining your good fortune.

2. Knock on wood. It was once believed that good spirits lived in trees, thus knocking on anything made of wood called upon the spirits to prevent misfortune.

3. Put your clothes on inside out. No idea where this comes from, but it seems to be popular with baseball players wearing their baseball caps inside out during important games.

4. Walk in the rain. Anyone who’s ever been caught without an umbrella may quarrel this one, but rain has always been a sign of good luck. This is probably because it is so important to the success of crops.

5. Avoid cracks in the sidewalk. Don’t step on the cracks, or you’ll break your mother’s back. No really. Avoid them, especially if you want to avoid tripping.

If you aren't superstitious, think about this: One hundred years ago, the British government sought to repress the superstition among seamen that setting sail on Fridays was unlucky. A special ship was commissioned and given the name "H.M.S. Friday." Everything they did with the ship was done on a Friday, They laid her keel on a Friday, launched her on a Friday, selected her crew on a Friday, even hired a man named Jim Friday to be the captain. To top it off, H.M.S. Friday embarked on her maiden voyage on a Friday — and was never seen or heard from again.