It’s Friday the 13^th! The day that some people are frozen with fear; armed with a lucky rabbit’s foot, four leaf clovers, and horse shoes. Ok maybe not but traditionally this is the day people associate with bad luck. Personally, it’s always been the opposite for me. It’s a day of abnormally good luck. In the 2^nd grade while walking home I found a $20 bill on a Friday the 13^th and a few other really cool events that I won’t bore you with happened on Friday the 13^th.

Just for kicks and giggles let’s talk about why this day is marked as one of the most superstitious days of the year and where did it get all its bad luck from?

Here’s your semi short history lesson. Ultimately the day is a combination of some pretty unlucky events. First the fear of the number 13 itself. It is believed to be contributed to a Norse myth. Twelve Norse gods were having a dinner party (always centered around food these old myths, huh?). This little gathering was in their version of Heaven called Valhalla. An uninvited guest, Loki (quite the mischievous little trickster), made himself welcome at their little gathering. He got bored so he decided to have a little fun by arranging for the blind god of darkness, Hoder, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness. (Told you he was mischievous). Balder died and the whole Earth was engulfed in blackness while they mourned. From that day number 13 is unlucky.Seriously? That’s just one of a million stories about the unluckiness of 13. Even the Bible references unlucky 13…after all, Judas was the 13^th guest to the Last Supper and he betrayed Jesus after that. There’s accounts of witches gathering in groups of 12 with the 13^th being that nasty red guy with the pointed tail and horns.

But why is Friday singled out so rudely? I mean, have you ever heard anyone panic because it’s Wednesday the 13^th? Nope, I haven’t either. The common belief is that it relates back to Good Friday and the day that Jesus was crucified.  Another factor of this crazy (or is it crazy?) superstition is the fact that it’s a rare occurrence. Friday the 13^th usually happens once a year but rarely more than three times in any given year. Here’s a secret (ok not really but it is overlooked): Any month that’s first day starts on Sunday will have a Friday the 13^th. SPOOKY??? No, just basic math.

However, 13 isn’t the only bad number out there. In Korea, China, & Japan, residence suffer from Tetraphobia…the fear of the number 4 because the word for it is very similar to the word for death. In Italy, the number 17 in Roman numerals (XVII) can be rearranged as VIXI which is Latin for “I have lived” or twisted around could mean “I am dead”. While 13 is still the unlucky factor in Romania,  Greece, and some areas of the Spanish world, it is the day of the week that is considered unlucky. They fear “martes trece”…Tuesday the 13^th.

Whatever day or number the day is though, do we really need to fear it? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Whatever your belief or fear or inclination of today is, just enjoy it and make the most of the breathes you get to take today.

BTW: Remaining true to my geek nature…the word for the fear of Friday the 13^th is friggatriskaidekaphobia which comes from the Greek treiskaideka meaning “thirteen” and phobia meaning “fear”.  The “frigga” prefix comes from the name of the Norse Goddess for whom Friday was named after.

Side note: I had really cool pictures to follow along with this post; however, blogger has been down with no explanation for quite some time and I’m resorting to emailing my post. I hope it makes it and I hope we’re all back up again soon.