13th Friday:- Some of the examples of superstitions are beliefs or practices that are usually regarded as magical or go against logic. Most of them are based on chance, destiny, or superstition. Superstitious beliefs may be adopted in an effort to attract luck, reject it or in an effort to accomplish a given goal. In this case however, superstitions may differ from one culture to another and may be associated with a certain event, object or action. Some of the greatest examples of superstitions are not putting a chair or anything else on a table with four legs, not stepping on fractures, not cracking a mirror or hoping for a four-leaf clover.
The Story as it goes
The notion concerning Friday the 13th is a combination of a number of prejudices of different origins. In Western tradition, the number thirteen has long been considered to be an unlucky number, perhaps this is because the numeral apparently had particular negative connotations in different cultural practices. When added to the Friday, which is thought to be an unlucky day in some cultures for example, the Christian culture which links it to the crucifixion of Jesus then forms what is considered to be an especially unlucky day.
This is another common superstition and has been adopted by movies and books for instance, Friday the 13th movie series which basically relate the day to an ill fate period.
Some Random Beliefs
Friday the 13th is considered to have an opposite meaning as people deem that this day is actually linked with misfortune or bad luck. It results in many superstitions and also cautionary measures among the people of the culture. For example:
- *Avoiding Travel: Some people do not go out or travel, and if they do, they take more precautions, thinking that an accident is bound to happen.
- *Avoiding Major Decisions: People are prone to procrastinate when it comes to making critical decisions or taking important courses of action; believing perhaps that to do so will bring misfortune.
- *Being Extra Cautious:* The public may be likely to minimize on various activities they engage in, right from being cautious on the roads, to being vigilant while checking on their surroundings.
Though people believe it’s unlucky and there is no scientific proof as to why Friday the 13th is deemed unlucky, it is a popular part of culture that entails numerous superstitious activities and practices.
The beliefs attached to Friday the 13th include:
- *Unlucky Day: * Some people consider Friday an unlucky day more so when Friday is joined with the number 13 which is considered as unlucky and thus leads to augmented accident and/or misfortune possibility.
- *Cultural Origins:* Indeed, the superstition is often a compound of two relatively distinct strata:
– *Number 13:* considered to be an unlucky number in the western world for the perceived number is seen to be unlucky maybe because it was believed that there should be 12 people at the supper but there Jesus increases the number to 13. – **Friday: Also, in some of the Christian cultures, Fridays are regarded as a day of bad luck because according to the biblical calendar, this is the day when Jesus was crucified.
- *Avoidance Behavior: * Some will not make such crucial decisions, travel or get involved in any new activity which they believe will draw a negative energy this day.
- *Pop Culture Influence: * Movies, books and media have in turn supported the superstition and using the day in, for instance, the marketing of horror movies or novels like ‘‘Friday the thirteen’’.
- *Historical Context: * Others think that it has historical backgrounds such as, the arrest of the Knights Templar on Friday the 13th in year 1307 which is thought to have resulted in the negative connotations of the day.
These beliefs are responsible for the making of the day but these are largely considered from cultural beliefs that are likely to be fallacious rather than factual.
