You Don’t Know These 13 Facts About the Unlucky Day Yet

Some see Friday the 13th as a bad omen. Others think this is nonsense. But maybe everyone can still learn something: Interesting facts about the supposedly fateful day.

The number 13 is also known as the “Devil’s Dozen”. The successor to the 12th harmonic has a bad reputation – especially on a Friday. 13 facts:

Bible reference

This bad omen comes from the Bible: according to Christian tradition, for example, Jesus Christ was crucified on Friday after Judas – the thirteenth participant in the Lord’s Supper – betrayed him the night before. But in Spain and parts of Latin America, it is feared that it will be Tuesday the 13th instead of Friday.

An unlucky number among cultures

There is also an ominous guest in Scandinavian mythology: after the appearance of the thirteenth god Loki in Valhalla, Baldur, the god of beauty, dies. Darkness falls to the ground.

The main thing is to be invited

Perhaps this is where the function “Quatorzième” came from. In the 19th century, the “fourteenth” was sometimes an additional professional guest at dinner parties. The only mission: avoid 13 guests. Otherwise someone will die.

Brave Americans

In the face of this myth, the plucky Thirteen Club was founded in New York in the early 1880s – on Friday the 13th, of course. A year later, they proudly say: All thirteen dinner guests are still alive.

Actually a lucky day?

Contrary to myths, accidents are much rarer: Zurich Insurance has found that Fridays are particularly harmful. But if it’s the 13th of the month, there will be about 10 percent fewer reports.

The Pope is responsible

The 13th of the month often falls on a Friday. This has to do with the introduction of the Gregorian calendar. Then the Pope decided that Thursday, October 4, 1582, would be followed by Friday, October 15. Anyone doing the math from then on would be aware of the recurrence of the supposedly fateful days.

You have to expect these fateful days

You have to adapt to it year after year. There will definitely be a Friday the 13th at least once – but three times at most.

Crazy Romans

Some even believe that Friday the 13th brings them good luck. On this legendary day, a very large number of ordinary players from French-speaking Switzerland try their luck in the lottery. At Loterie Romande, sales increased by about 30 percent. However, this effect is not noticeable in German-speaking Switzerland.

But the lucky number?

In Judaism, the number 13 is also considered a lucky number. For believers it symbolizes the name of God. 13 characteristics are attributed to him. The scholar Maimonides formulated 13 beliefs. At this age, boys are accepted into society as they reach puberty.

Athletes…

Athletes are also superstitious: for many years, no Formula 1 racing driver started with the number 13. In the 2014 season, Pastor Maldonado tried his luck. Result: zero wins, only two points, sixteenth place overall. According to the regulations, the starting number 13 is not assigned in the official triathlon.

Actually the diagnosis

Anyone who is afraid of Friday the 13th may be suffering from parascapedicatriphobia. This term is probably not intended for people who are afraid of foreign words. It is derived from the Greek terms “paraskeue” (Friday), “dekatria” (thirteen), and “phobos” (fear). But some people will simply translate it loosely: “Better stay in bed.”

It’s all just marketing

Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) is one of these fearful people. For example, the creator of twelve-tone music marked the thirteenth bar of his choral work Three Thousand Years as 12a. Trick or tactic? This cannot be properly proven. Bar 13 is actually present in the following composition, perhaps simply contributing to the myth that the composer was born on the 13th and died on the 13th. Irony sells!

And now:

In high-rise buildings, the thirteenth floor regularly becomes the fourteenth, and sometimes hotels dispense with room No. 13 – all so as not to scare away the superstitious. On some aircraft, row 12 is followed by number 14 – for example on Lufthansa. The airline has also canceled row 17, which is considered an unlucky number in Italy.

(Leo/SDA/dpa)