“Friday the 13th” is an association that, just uttered, gives chills to the superstitious. In 2024 we faced this “sinister” date twice: in September and now in December.
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Bad luck, misfortunes, fear and anxiety are almost invariably connected with this date, with popular beliefs also fueled by horror films.
Although most make an association with the famous horror production of that name, Friday the 13th superstitions did not start from Hollywood culture, but are linked to an episode in the Bible that marked the history of mankind.
The exact origins of when “Friday the 13th” was considered an unlucky day are unknown, but “probably the superstition comes from the Christian religion”, according to National Geographic.
“For example, in the Bible, Judas – the infamous disciple who betrayed Jesus – was the 13th guest at the Last Supper. Also in the Bible, many unfortunate things happened on Friday“, explains the quoted source.
Phil Stevens, professor of anthropology at the University of Buffalo and author of a book on the anthropology of magic, explained to USA Today that “Friday the 13th” combines two elements that come from the Bible,
At the Last Supper of Jesus, 13 people were seated at the table, and the event happened on a Thursday. That evening Jesus was arrested and crucified the next day, a Friday.
“Thus, Friday the 13th is associated with a double misfortune: the 13th dinner guest betrayed Jesus, and on a Friday, the Messiah was crucified”Dr. Stevens explained.
People can “do” magic to make things happen,
Dr. Phil Stevens considers superstition to be an example of “magical thinking”.
According to the professor, we are talking about magical thinking when one believes that there is a causal relationship between two things: for example, Friday and the number 13 together take on a different connotation when they fall on the same day.
“The word taboo is the right one for this type of superstition. Because it is the term that denotes avoidance of establishing a magical connection. People can “make” magic to make things happen by recognizing the connections between things, but if the connections between things could cause an unfortunate outcome, then people avoid making those connectionsi” explained Stevens.
What meanings does the number 13 have in the world
The number 13 could be considered “cursed” and because it follows 12, which many people believe to be symbolic of the idea of “complete”of “whole”, considering that we have 12 months in a year, 12 inches in a foot, 12 pairs of ribs in the human body, etc.
According to National Geographic, “the number 13 is likely to make people restless because it causes them to think about the unknown, what lies beyond the number 12″
In Spain, not Friday, but Tuesday, the 13th, is considered the dreaded day.
In Italy, people do not fear the 13th day of the calendar, but the 17th day of any month, because the Roman numeral XVII (17) can be rearranged to write “VIXI”, which means “my life is over” in Latin, the cited source shows.
People who fear the number 13 may have a condition called triskaidekaphobia. Psychologists link this abnormal fear of the number 13, like any superstition, to a certain level of education and culture. For most people, Friday the 13th is just another Friday, or possibly a good opportunity to watch a horror movie.
Friday the 13th is a tattoo celebration
In the US, many tattoo parlors have special promotions on Friday the 13th.
The promotion of Friday the 13th in a celebration of tattooing is connected to the co-owner of a salon in Dallas – Elm Street Tattoo, Oliver Peck, who rose to fame from the TV series “Ink Master”.
Peck confessed that he was inspired by the Halloween specials of fellow artist Dave Lum, who organized the first Friday the 13th Tattoo Marathon in 1995, in which he tattooed the number “13” on as many people as possible in a period of 24 hours.
