Friday the Thirteenth
Everything you ever wanted to know about Friday the 13th but were afraid to ask. Enjoy.
Via scottbruno.com.
Where did the superstition of Friday the 13th come from?Much, much more here.
It appears that the superstition stems from the events that took place on Friday, October 13, 1307. On that day, the Pope of the Roman Catholic church, along with the King of France, sentenced the "the Knights Templar" to death and ordered the torture and crucifixion of their leader.
Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue. Many buildings don't have a 13th floor. It is though that 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 to name a few).
In North America and Europe, a significant portion of the population behaves very strangely on Friday the 13th. They won't fly in airplanes, host a party, apply for a job, get married or even start a new project. Some people won't even come into work. In the United States, roughly 8 percent of the population is afraid of Friday the 13th, a condition known as paraskevidekatriaphobia. "Friday the 13th" as we know it has its roots in many traditions and cultures.
The superstition surrounding Friday the 13th is actually a combination of two separate fears -- the fear of the number 13, called triskaidekaphobia, and the fear of Fridays. The most familiar source of both these phobias is Christian theology. Thirteen is significant to Christians because it is the number of people who were present at the Last Supper (Jesus and his 12 apostles). Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th member of the party to arrive.
posted by Fergie @ 1/13/2006 07:06:00 AM
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