Paraskevidekatriaphobia: Fear of Friday the 13th

With all the hype over Valentine's Day this week, I completely forgot today was Friday the 13th!

Actually, I have never really had too much fear about Friday the 13th. I guess once you have watched all 7 or 8 Friday the 13th films more than once and on an actual Friday the 13th, Jason doesn't jump out of your closet, you really have nothing to fear. Honestly, I am a bit more concerned on any month where the 13th falls on a Monday... :P

But why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky? A while back A. asked me the same question. So, I got to thinking about it this morning and did a little research (you know, that is what we librarians do... research) and this is what I found out...

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Praskevidekatriaphobia, or Fear of Friday the 13th, is probably the most widespread superstition in America: over 20 million Americans admit that they are at least a little apprehensive on Friday the 13th.

Nobody really knows the origins of Friday the 13th. In fact, no one has been able to document the existence of such beliefs prior to the 19th century. However two separate strands of folklore concerning the unluckiness of the number thirteen (13) and the unluckiness of Fridays may have converged to make Friday the 13th the unluckiest day of all.

The Number Thirteen (13)

No one understands why human beings first associated the number 13 with misfortune, but the belief is assumed to be ancient and there are many theories claiming that its origins extend beyond antiquity. However, all ancient civilizations weren't unanimous in their dread of 13. The Chinese and ancient Egyptians regarded the number as lucky.

Some sources propose that 13 was intentionally vilified by the founders of patriarchal religions because it symbolized femininity. In many goddess-worshipping cultures, 13 was honored since it corresponded to the number of lunar cycles in a year.

Friday and the Christians

For some, Friday's bad reputation originates in the Bible. Supposedly, when Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit it was Friday. Tradition also indicates that the Great Flood began and the Temple of Solomon was destroyed on a Friday. And of course, Friday was the day of the week on which Christ was crucified.

Friday was execution day in pagan Rome, but in other pre-Christian cultures it was the Sabbath and the pre-Christian Teutonics considered Friday to be quite lucky. Of course, these pagan associations were not lost on the early Church, which went to great lengths to suppress them and eventually Fridays were associated with the Witches' Sabbath.

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So there you have it, the some background information about the number thirteen and Fridays. However, as you may have guessed, the complex folklore of Friday the 13th doesn't have much to do with people's fears today.

"The fear has much more to do with personal experience. People learn at a young age that Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky, for whatever reason, and then they look for evidence that the legend is true. The evidence isn't hard to come by, of course. If you get in a car wreck on one Friday the 13th, lose your wallet, or even spill your coffee, that day will probably stay with you. But if you think about it, bad things, big and small, happen all the time. If you're looking for bad luck on Friday the 13th, you'll probably find it."
-- click here for the site from which I lifted this quote.