I know it’s not Friday the 13th, but in the spirit of all things spooky, here is the origin of the superstition. 

Everyone knows that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, but few know where this came from. Many scholars have tried to figure this out, as almost everyone, even the non-believers of the superstition still act differently on the day.  

On this day many people act very cautiously and do whatever they can to avoid the dangers of this unholy holiday. As such many prefer to stay home where they feel safe. They tend to avoid roads, and other dangerous activities. 

But in truth there is no real “origin” of this superstition, as there are many biblical ideas, mythological and even a mathematical origin.  

Since I know people love mathematics, we will cover that possible origin first. It goes that some scholars believe that our fear of the day comes from that 13 is a little beyond completeness, as 12 is a complete number. So, with the combination of being an unlucky number and being beyond a complete number, makes this a mathematical imbalance of a day.   

But in the more interesting origins come from biblical sources. As scholars have found, there are in fact several important events that occurred on Friday and the 13th. Some say that it was on a Friday that Adam and Eve had been tempted to eat the forbidden fruit. It is also stated that the mythical brothers of Abel and Cain had their falling out on Friday the 13th. By falling out I mean Cain killing Abel aka the first murder.  

But the biggest biblical example would have to revolve around the 13th member of the last super. The 13th member of the last super was Judas. Who is famous for betraying Jesus, by informing the romans of Jesus’s location, and by kissing Jesus to show who was this so-called son of God. But due to this betrayal Jesus would be Crucified on Friday, also known as Hangman’s Day. 

The mythological origin comes from Norse mythology. AS in one story, Odin had invited 13 guests to Valhalla, and the 13th member was Loki the God of Mischief and chaos. So even with the Norse 13 and Friday aren’t that great of days. 

However,  is not the only unlucky day in the world. In Spain, actually nothing has gone wrong on Friday the 13th instead there has been evil unleashed on Tuesday the 13th.  Italy also doesn’t have a Friday the 13th, it has the 17th. For, if you covert the roman numerals of 17, you get “my life is over”.  

Citations: 

Fanchini, Jacqueline. “Tuesday the 13th: A Day of Bad Luck and Misfortune in Spain.” Olive Press News Spain, 13 Jan. 2015, www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2015/01/13/tuesday-the-13th-a-day-of-bad-luck-and-misfortune/. 

Handwerk, Brian. “Friday the 13th Is Back. Here’s Why It Scares Us.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 12 Apr. 2018, news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/10/what-is-friday-13th-superstition-facts-science/.

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