How did Friday the 13th superstitions start, and do you believe in them?

Some folks will tell you it goes back to the Knights Templar being persecuted- there are several theories however the simplest being that both Fridays and the number thirteen are unlucky in Christian history.

Lot’s of folks cite the 13 present at the last supper, I believe. I’m going to go grab my book of superstitions off the shelf. BRB.

Also, today is my g/f’s birthday.

I’m interested in reading answers to this. I don’t have many myself. I do believe in certain “superstitions” but no I do not believe that 13 or Friday the 13th is an inherently unlucky day/number.

Nah, it’s just another day.

not in the slightest I look at it as an opportunity to give people as much ‘good luck’ as possible…boo

@lynneblundell Hoo?

This morning after I woke up i had to walk over a broken mirror that was under a ladder while trying not to step on my neighbor’s black cat on my way to get coffee… nothing bad has happened so far today.

lol…um…like a shock..that you got good luck on a bad day? BOO

I saw something on tv today that nearly 50% of the U.S. population hold some superstitious belief in friday the 13th. Also, on friday the 13th there is a significant drop in the amount of accidents that happen probably due to many people staying home. Also, I can’t recall the exact number fact, but for the past 80 years or something the stock market has seen a rise on friday the 13th.

@Ansible1 I knew you’d be a trooper with an avatar like that! xx

“The most widespread numerical superstition today is that 13 is extremely unlucky. This belief is often attributed to the fact that 13 were present at the Last Supper, but in fact it is far older than this event and existed in pagan times. the ancient Romans disliked 13 as much as we do and regarded it as a symbol of death, destruction, and misfortune. Another explanation sometimes given is that witch-covens always consisted of 13 persons. The records of the trials do not always bear this out but it was generally believed, it might well help to strengthen the aversion in which this number was, and is held, especially as the presiding number was supposed to represent the Devil, or even to be him in person.

It is very ill-omened for 13 people to sit together at table. The person who rises first will die or meet with serious misfortune within a year. In some districts, it is the last to rise upon whom the penalty falls, in others it may be any one of the company. In Oxfordshire, it is unlucky to be thirteen in a room, especially for the person nearest the door.

Hotel-keepers rarely have a room in their house which is numbered 13. They know they will have difficulty in letting it and the 13th room is usually labeled 12a or 14. Houses numbered 13 are often hard to let or sell, and some town councils have been forced to take notice of this tradition and omit 13s from their three-numerals. A famous English barrister is said to have refused all briefs marked 13 guineas.

The 13th of the month is an inauspicious day on which to embark upon any new enterprise, including marriage, or to set out on a journey. It is doubly so if it happens to fall on a Friday. Probably the unluckiest of all dates for a wedding is Friday, 13 May, and few brides would choose it without some very strong reason. On the other hand, to be born on the 13th of the month does not seem particularly ill-omened anywhere and in some districts it is thought to be lucky. Where that is the case, a child born then is expected to prosper in anything he begins on that date in later life.”

- The Encyclopedia of Superstitions edited and revised by Christina Hole. Helicon/Barnes and Noble, 1996. Original copyright, 1961.

My fingers hurt.

@Ansible1

On one hand, I’m embarrassed that so many people buy into superstitious crap. But on the other hand, it’s good to see less accidents.

As for the question, the origin has already been answered, but no, I don’t certainly don’t believe in it. Superstitions have no actual power; it’s all in the mind. I may knock on wood or something like that, but it’s just for fun; it’s not because I actually believe it has cosmic power to bring good luck.

Just remember: the address of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California is 1313 S. Harbor Blvd.

There is also this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_(number)#Lucky_13

@DominicX I have to disagree. One man’s superstition is another’s theology. Belief and faith, even in superstitions are incredibly powerful and meaningful. Furthermore, they play an interesting role in personal psychology. You might find this particular superstition to be silly or ignorant but chances are you have a couple of superstitions yourself.

Few people would doubt the power of belief or the power the mind can exert when it is convinced of something.

@nzigler

That’s why I said “it’s all in the mind”. I didn’t doubt the power of the mind. I am talking about impersonal external forces and their relationships to superstitious, of which, I do not believe there are any. That’s my belief. I’m allowed to have it.

@DominicX of course you are allowed to believe superstitions are embarasssing- no one said otherwise. My point is they are ubiquitous and powerful. The statistic about accidents prove that don’t they?

@nzigler

And I didn’t say they weren’t ubiquitous and powerful. I was simply commenting on the fact that I do not believe there are any cosmic forces (or alignment of forces) that cause bad things to happen on Friday the 13th, which is why I believe there is no reason to avoid going out on the day.

“On one hand, I’m embarrassed that so many people buy into superstitious crap. But on the other hand, it’s good to see less accidents. As for the question, the origin has already been answered, but no, I don’t certainly don’t believe in it. Superstitions have no actual power; it’s all in the mind.”

@DominicX My mistake then. I took this: “Superstitions have no actual power” to include that you thought they had no effect on society.

I just had a horribly unlucky day, this thread reminded me I have something to blame. =p

I don’t remember ever having an “unlucky” Friday the 13th, but that could be because of BPAL. :D

As for today…I had a day, with some good bits and not-so-good bits. But it’s not like my chinchilla bit the dust or anything—just hassles and laundry. :P

It was unlucky for one of my co-workers who flipped a Gator while cornering today. Personally, I find superstitions to be silly beliefs based on false or anecdotal evidence. It’s just another day in a year full of days.

Friday the 13th being unlucky is sort of like the belief that there are more admissions to the ER during a full moon, which has been scientifically proven to be erroneous.

I don’t have a problem with so-called lucky days or lucky signs or a positive outlook horoscope, because there’s clear scientific evidence that the placebo effect created by the human brain is very very real. It can work for red wonder pills (based on sugar only) and it can work for lucky signs. People who believe in it might benefit from it.

The trouble is the opposite effect, the so-called the nocebo effect. It does real harm to people, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo_effect

and see also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_13#Social_impact

“According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, an estimated 17 to 21 million people in the United States are affected by a fear of this day. Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business, taking flights or even getting out of bed. It’s been estimated that $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day.”

We need to stop this nonsense and convince people. We need to debunk the ghosts and the paranormal and the black cats and the Friday the 13th humbug. It’s a normal day like any other. Actually, yesterday there was Friday November 13, 2009. A wonderful day for most people.

Superstitions are just that…full moons on the other hand!!! You do not want to be in the same county as my MIL on full moons! :O