Friday The 13th

The sixth day of the week and the number 13 both have menacing reputations said to date from ancient times. It seems their inevitable concurrence from one to three times a year (there will be three such occurrences in 2012, exactly 13 weeks apart) portends more misfortune than some naive minds can bear. According to some sources it’s the most extensive superstition in the United States today. Some people refuse to go to work on Friday the 13th; some won’t eat in restaurants; many wouldn’t think of setting a wedding on the date.

Legend has it: If 13 people sit down to dinner together, one will die within the year. The Turks so disliked the number 13 that it was practically expunged from their vocabulary (Brewer, 1894). Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue. Many buildings don’t have a 13th floor. If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil’s luck (Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names). There are 13 witches in a coven!

A survey conducted in America showed that the number of reported accidents in hospitals increase as much as 50% on days like New Years, Valentine’s Day, Christmas and of course, Friday the 13^th (creepy)

The British Medical Journal had a case study of Friday the 13^th titled: Is Friday the 13th Bad for Your Health?“. Their conclusion: Friday 13th is unlucky for some. The risk of hospital admission as a result of a transport accident may be increased by as much as 52 percent. Staying at home is recommended.

Legend has it: Never change your bed on Friday; it will bring bad dreams. If you cut your nails on Friday, you cut them for sorrow. Don’t start a trip on Friday or you will encounter misfortune. Ships that set sail on a Friday will have bad luck, as in the tale of H.M.S. Friday. One hundred years ago, the British government sought to quell the longstanding superstition among seamen that setting sail on Fridays was unlucky. A special ship was commissioned and given the name “H.M.S. Friday.” They laid her keel on a Friday, launched her on a Friday, selected her crew on a Friday, and hired a man named Jim Friday to be her captain. To top it off, H.M.S. Friday embarked on her maiden voyage on a Friday — and was never seen or heard from again!

Here are a few other common superstitions:

Throwing shoes at newly-weds ensures a happy marriage. – I couldn’t imagine throwing shoes at someone on their wedding day! Maybe that’s why there are so many unhappy marriages…

Walking with one shoe on and one off brings bad luck for a full year. – I have done this, broken my leg and yes, it was indeed a bad year for me :P

Placing your shoes on a table or chair attracts misfortune. – Kids and their mothers can attest to this!

I don’t really believe in any of these, for me it is no different than any other day!

This post was first published at the Qalam blog at StepUpPakistan, an initiative of Ali Moeen Nawazish.

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