The fear of Friday the thirteenth and the fear of the number thirteen. Thirteen is considered the unlucky number and together with the unlucky day Friday it makes a bad combination. If you prefer to stay at home on Friday the thirteenth, you have Paraskevidekatriaphobia, a phobia of Friday and thirteen together. Not a ‘modern’ phobia but an age-old one, originating in an ancient world full of superstition and magic or even earlier.
Contents
- Old superstition about Friday the 13th
- Thirteen in religion
- Loki and thirteen
- Thirteen isn’t that bad
- Then Friday also brought bad luck
- What not to do on Friday
- Friday the thirteenth and the Knights Templar
- Influence of Friday the thirteenth
Old superstition about Friday the 13th
Thirteen would have been an unlucky number when our distant ancestors learned to count. They had 10 fingers and two feet, which was twelve and thirteen was no longer a number. The claim assumes that these clever ones were incapable of counting toes. But in many ancient cultures there was no unlucky number. Thirteen was a lucky number for the Chinese and the Egyptians also thought it was a great number.
In ancient Egypt there were different (spiritual) phases of life, twelve phases during life, the last (thirteenth) was death. Not a sad thought at all for the Egyptians, life after death was just as real and happy as the time before it. Dying was the next stage of development. When people started to see death differently and also became afraid of it, the number thirteen remained and became linked to the fear of death.
the Last Supper / Source: Willem Key (circa 1515/1516–1568), Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Thirteen in religion
According to some, the fear of the number thirteen in particular has a religious background. There were thirteen people at the last supper, the twelve disciples and Jesus. This caused problems for dinner guests in the centuries that followed. In any case, it was better not to seat thirteen guests at one table, but if this could not be avoided, everyone had to sit down or get up at the same time. Because whoever stood up first (or sat down last) ran the risk of premature death, or some other major misfortune. Judas was the first to leave the Last Supper and died shortly afterwards.
Loki / Source: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons (PD)
Loki and thirteen
Loki the Norse god of fire was not invited to a dinner party of the other gods. That was no great wonder because it was an angry, mean and evil god. Twelve gods sit around the table in Valhalla and then Loki appears, making thirteen. Loki was angry and manages to provoke a fight between the gods. The stories differ considerably, but it ends with the death of the beautiful Baldr, shot by his blind brother Hodur. Thirteen table guests are definitely bad luck!
Thirteen isn’t that bad
It’s just not a universally bad number. The Italians shudder at the number seventeen because of its association with death. But not all Christian stories consider thirteen to be an unlucky number either. The number ten can represent the Ten Commandments and three the Trinity.
Then Friday also brought bad luck
There are several Christian explanations for the unlucky day of Friday. Friday was the day of Jesus’ crucifixion. Not only that! Things went wrong in paradise, the destruction of Solomon’s temple, the beginning of the confusion of tongues in Babylon, the flood, all on a Friday.
Freya / Source: Eduard Ade, Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
There is also a pagan explanation, although partly inspired by the Christian faith. The Romans named the sixth day of the week (dies Veneris) after their goddess of love, Venus. The Germanic goddess most identified with this is Freya (or Frigg). This made Friday Freya’s day. Freya was originally a love goddess, more of a mother goddess than Venus was. One of Freya’s symbols was a black cat. For the Christians it was a simple accusation. Freya became the witch (goddess) and because she was connected to Friday, Friday became a damned day.
The accusation was made even more serious by the following legend. The old Norwegian witches gathered every Friday in a cemetery. One day Freya came down from her mountaintop and gave her one of her black cats. There were twelve witches, the black cat made thirteen. Here everything comes together, the fear of witches, of Friday, of thirteen and not to forget the superstition that black cats bring bad luck.
What not to do on Friday
On Friday there was hanging, catching. Friday was the day for executions. It was better not to get married on a Friday and it was also better not to travel on that day. Aren’t we all going en masse to our holiday destination on a Friday? On Friday you didn’t stand on a staircase, you didn’t do the laundry, you didn’t have meetings, you didn’t start a business, you better not get bad news (another worry wrinkle), start a new job, sail a ship. watering, having a child and harvesting. In fact, Friday became a day of rest in popular belief!
Friday the thirteenth and the Knights Templar
Another theory for the accident on a Friday the thirteenth became topical again after the ‘Da Vinci Code’. On Friday, October 13, 1307, almost the entire Order of the Templars was arrested. According to some sources, it would be the reason for the combination of Friday and the unlucky number thirteen. The Order had become too powerful and too rich according to the greedy French King Philip the Beautiful and he managed to get the then Pope Clement to participate in this farce. The many Templars were mainly accused of heresy and many succumbed to torture or were burned at the stake. Philip took over all the Order’s assets and it disappeared into the history books. As a side note for readers of The Da Vinci Code, there were no allegations involving an alleged relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene or any child.
Influence of Friday the thirteenth
Friday the thirteenth is a bad day for the American economy in particular, but little is known about the Dutch economy. Americans stay at home en masse on the infamous Friday, report sick and refuse to sign important contracts. Sometimes the superstition seems true. On Friday the thirteenth (1970), Apollo 13 almost crashed at 1:13 PM. The mission had begun on platform 39 and was the thirteenth mission from that platform. (For completeness: 3 times 13 is 39).