Why are Friday the 13th considered Unlucky?
It’s common knowledge that Friday the 13th is considered unlucky. However, how and when did this enter the public consciousness, and is it indeed true?
Occasionally, a month’s thirteenth day will coincidentally fall on a Friday, and lo and behold, you find yourself experiencing a Friday the thirteenth. Walking on eggshells is the daily routine for believers, but for sceptics and doubters, this may be the stuff of comedy. But in reality, what does Friday the 13th represent? How did everyone describe it as a “unlucky” overlap, whether in a satirical or literal sense? Let’s start with some ancient wisdom.
Friday the 13th Superstition – In Brief
To begin with, it is impossible to establish Friday the 13th’s actual beginnings with absolute certainty. However, the legend seems to have withstood voyages across numerous oceans and epochs, and it still gleams brightly today. According to Charles Panati’s book Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things, Norse mythology provides the earliest hint as to the supposed menacing significance of the number 13. According to legend, during a feast, the God of Mischief, Loki, broke into Asgard’s magnificent Valhalla. This increased the number of people present to 13. Following a regrettable chain of circumstances, the blind God Hodr accidentally shot his brother Balder—the God of light, brilliance, joy, purity, peace, and forgiveness—dead on sight with an arrow.
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This had a cascading effect across Europe, resulting in the energy of the number 13 encrusting itself in one of the Bible’s most challenging passages. Thursday was the day of the historic Last Supper, which is now referred to as Maundy Thursday. The disciple who eventually betrayed Jesus, Judas Iscariot, was the thirteenth guest to arrive. The Friday following was the day that Jesus was crucified.
From a mythological perspective, Fridays aren’t particularly fortunate days of the week. The disturbing series of inappropriate incidents, all of which happened on a Friday, is detailed in a CNN report. Every significant event that occurred on a Friday, including the fall of the Temple of Solomon, Cain killing his brother Abel, and Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit.
The shady reputation of Friday the 13th was further cemented when mythology eventually made its way into literary artefacts. Thomas William Lawson Friday, the Thirteenth was the first work that is known to have given this concept a fictitious life. The book, which was first published in 1907, followed the schemes of a stockbroker in New York City who took advantage of the apprehensions surrounding the day. In terms of films, you don’t need to go much farther than the 12-title strong Friday the 13th series. The first movie came out in 1980, yet the suspense and anxiety the slasher movie created have endured remarkably well, and are still strong today.
There are always two (or more) sides to a story, if paralleling stories from mythological retellings around the globe are any indication. For example, Fridays are connected to nurturing feminine energies in Pagan tradition. In reality, a lot of people think that the name “Friday,” which was given to the fifth weekday, actually refers to the goddess Frigg, also known as Frigga, whose realm is marriage, maternity, and love.
Not only that, but keynote artwork has also been observed to represent the power of the number 13. Consider the Venus of Laussel, which is on exhibit at Bordeaux, France’s Musée d’Aquitaine. The 18.11-inch-tall limestone sculpture, which depicts a naked woman, is still regarded as a powerful fertility sign. The woman is seen lifting a horn that has precisely thirteen lines etched across it while holding her growing tummy close to her chest.
Shubhangi Gupta is a distinguished content writer and the visionary founder of The Unpleasant – Acha Nahi Sabse Sacha. With a Master’s degree in Commerce from University of Lucknow, Shubhangi has seamlessly blended her academic background with her passion for reading and writing, embarking on a successful career as a content writer since 2019.
