A Light Hearted Look At Friday 13th...

According to www.time.com

The number 13 has been unlucky for centuries. Some historians peg the superstition to the 13 people who attended the Last Supper (neither Jesus nor Judas came out of that one O.K.), but ancient Babylon's Code of Hammurabi omits the number 13 in its list of laws, so the superstition dates back to at least 1700 BC. Thirteen is so unlucky, in fact, that in 1881 an organization called the Thirteen Club attempted to improve the number's reputation. At the first meeting, the members (all 13 of them) walked under ladders to enter a room covered with spilled salt. The club lasted for many years and grew to more than 400 members, including five U.S. Presidents: Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Despite the club's efforts, triskaidekaphobia (that's fear of the number 13) flourished; even today, most tall buildings don't have a 13th Floor.

The number's association with Friday, however, didn't take hold until the 20th century. In 1907, eccentric Boston stockbroker Thomas Lawson published a book called Friday the Thirteenth, which told of an evil businessman's attempt to crash the stock market on the unluckiest day of the month. Thanks to an extensive ad campaign, the book sold well: nearly 28,000 copies within the first week. In 1916 the book was turned into a feature-length silent film.

Wall Street's superstitions about Friday the 13th continued through 1925, when the New York Times noted that people "would no more buy or sell a share of stock today than they would walk under a ladder or kick a black cat out of their path." Some stock traders also blamed Black Monday — Oct. 19, 1987 — on the fact that three Fridays fell on the 13th that year. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute estimates that $700-$800 million dollars are lost every Friday the 13th because of people's refusal to travel, purchase major items or conduct business.

Then came Jason. In 1980, Paramount Pictures released Friday the 13th (tagline: "Fridays will never be the same again"), a slasher flick about a series of murders at a summer camp. Apparently Jason, born on Friday the 13th, chooses that date to take revenge on oversexed campers much like the ones who allowed him to drown in Crystal Lake. 

What tune could be more appropriate?  Dance Macabre performed by David Garrett 2002...

According to www.Telegraph.co uk

The roots of Friday as an unlucky day lie in early Christianity; it was the day on which Christ was crucified.

In Britain there are regional variations. In Somerset, it is said that whoever turns a bed on a Friday turns ships at sea. In Cumberland, babies born on a Friday were laid on the family Bible.

In some areas, calling a doctor for the first time on a Friday is a certain omen of death. Cutting hair and nails on a Friday is a certain path to misfortune, and many couples will refrain from marrying on a Friday.

A Yorkshire legend has it that laudry should not be performed on a Friday. It is said that as Christ was walking to Calvary a woman washing outside her house derisively waved a wet garment at his face, leading him to curse her and all those who washed on that day in future.

Suspicion around the number 13 has Christian origins as well, reflecting the last supper where Christ dined with his twelve apostles.

The Romans also disliked the number, believing it to be a symbol of death, destruction and misfortune.

Houses often do not have a number 13, and many hotels, including the Carlton in London, miss out a thirteenth floor.

It is considered very unlucky for thirteen people to dine together, and the first to rise will reach serious misfortune - a superstition upheld by US President Roosevelt. He also refused to travel on Friday the 13th.

In the novel Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown cites the 14th century execution of Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay, which took place on Friday the 13th. He cursed the Pope and the King of France, spreading misfortune. Some historians have claimed it was the day on which Eve bit the apple from the Tree of Knowledge, the great flood began and the builders of the Tower of Babel.

Did you know?

Paraskavedekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia is a fear of Friday the 13th.

Triskaidekaphobia is a fear of the number 13.

Under a ladder

Umbrella open indoors

Black cat

Broken mirror

Friday 13th

According to www.surgeonmarta.com

Did you know Austrian composer Arnold Schönberg suffered from severe triskaidekaphobia and may have even died from it?  It’s true! According to The Book of Lists author David WallechinskySchönberg suffered from a life-long obsession with the number 13.

Ponder these curious facts – not only was Schönberg born on September 13th, 1874, but he died in his 76th year (7+6=13) on July Friday the 13th, 1951 at precisely 11:47pm – 13 minutes before midnight!

If he was so unlucky, how did he become a successful composer and live to be 76?

According to Wikepedia

Superstition is a belief in a false conception of supernatural casualty: that one event leads to the cause of another without any physical process linking the two events.

According to Atakos.com

Do you believe in superstitions?

Thousands of people believe in superstitions although a lot of people think of them as nonsense and not based on reason. Where does the word “superstition” come from? The word superstition comes from two Latin words: “Super’’ and “Stare”. Super means above and stare means to stand.

 Do you know anyone who does not have a superstition? Most of the people, more or less, believe in them. Even though they deny superstitions, they can not help believing in them. They are superstitious. Unfortunately, we have hundreds of superstitions, all around the world. They change from culture to culture and they have a big influence in our lives.

There are two types of superstition. Good luck superstitions and bad luck superstitions.

On a more positive note!

Good luck superstitions

- If your right hand itches, you will earn money.

- If you find a four-leaf clover, you will have good luck.

- If you see a horseshoe which was lost, you will have good luck.

- If you throw rice on a new bride and groom, they will have so many children.

- If you dream about a white cat, you will have good luck.

- If you see a black cat which walks towards you, it brings you good luck.

- If your right ear itches, someone is speaking well of you.

- You can hang up garlic in your house for good luck.

- If you put a mirror just across the door, you will have good luck.

- If you put the sugar into the cup first, before the tea, you will have good luck.

- If you step on your shadow, it brings you good luck.

- If you catch a falling leaf on the first day of autumn, you will have good luck all winter.

- If you blow out all the candles on your birthday cake in one blow, you will get whatever you want.

- If the first butterfly you see in the year is white, it brings you good luck all year.

- If a girl drinks salty water then goes to sleep, she will see her future husband in her dream.

Vintage Vic does not believe in superstitions, but then, she was born on the 13th February!