Besides the horror movie series, does anyone know the origins of the “Friday the 13th” concept? Several bible stories reference Fridays and the 13th day of the month being unlucky. The DaVinci Code even mentions Friday the 13th of October in the year 1307 as a bad day. Despite this, the marriage of the number 13 and Friday being a bad thing looks to have really gained some steam in the early 1900’s. English, German, Polish & Portuguese cultures have all considered Friday the 13th to be a day of bad luck for the past 100 years. There is even a formal term for the fear of such days: paraskavedekatriaphobia – derived from 3 Greek words that mean Friday, thirteen, and phobia. I challenge anyone to find a word with more syllables than that one (supercalifragilisticexpialodocious doesn’t count!)
So, everyone in Tacoma, be careful today; don’t step on any sidewalk cracks, ignore your black cat, leave your umbrella in your car and, for crimony’s sake, don’t walk under any ladders until tomorrow.
Was paraskavedekatriaphobia on your word of the day calendar?
I like this explanation the best:
“Some also say that the arrest of Jaques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and 60 of his senior knights on Friday, October 13, 1307 by King Philip IV of France is the origin of this superstition. That day thousands of Templars were arrested and subsequently tortured. They then ‘confessed’ and were executed. From that day on, Friday the 13th was considered by followers of the Templars as an evil and unlucky day.”
I feel like I should let you know I got that info from this site