Free Shipping to U.S. Destinations. No Minimums!   Details

Friday the 13th

May 13, 2016
It’s Friday the 13th, a date that is the subject of an entire horror movie franchise and has actually inspired a nationwide trend to avoid work, travel, and buying lotto tickets on that day.
 
But where does the superstition surrounding this date actually come from? Even in America, where many people carry superstitions about this day—no one really knows.So, here are some fun facts about Friday the 13th—a day that brings up images of unlucky murder victims being chased through the woods by a machete-wielding psycho in a hockey mask.
 
While it has not been proven, many historians believe that the origins of the number 13’s unlucky reputation lie in the story of The Last Supper. Jesus had 13 guests at his last meal, and the 13th guest was Judas—the infamous betrayer of Jesus. Jesus was then crucified on a Friday. This is one of the best explanations that historians have pieced together over the years to explain where Friday the 13th got its bad rap.
~
If a month starts with a Sunday, it will have a Friday the 13th.
~
This date has its own official phobia. Fear of Friday the 13th is paraskevidekatriaphobia, or friggatriskaidekaphobia, named for the Norse goddess Frigga, who gave her name to Friday in Norse myth. This phobia is a recognized phenomenon. Just don’t ask us how to say it.
~
In Italy, it’s not Friday the 13th that is considered unlucky—it’s Friday the 17th. And in Greek and Hispanic cultures, Tuesday the 13th is considered unlucky.
~
In the year 1307, King Phillip IV of France commanded that hundreds of Templar Knights be arrested on, you guessed it, Friday the 13th. They were tortured and burned alive. Keep in mind that, prior to the decree that the Templars were “enemies of the faith,” they were strongly rooted in French support.
~
Ironically enough, Thomas W. Lawson wrote a novel called Friday the 13th at the beginning of the 20th century. Then, in 1907 a ship named after the author was shipwrecked on a Friday the 13th. This novel was the first written work which specifically referenced Friday the 13th by name as an unlucky date.
~
Before Lawson’s novel, Chaucer referred to Friday as unlucky in The Canterbury Tales. This was in the 14th century.
~
Every year has at least one Friday the 13th, and at most three. This year has just one! (Lucky for us.)
~
Throughout the lifetime of the film series Friday the 13th, the main character, Jason Voorhies has killed a total of 199 victims. The films with the greatest numbers of victims were Jason Goes to Hell and Jason X. 
~
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Alfred Hitchcock, Steve Buscemi, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson all came into the world on Friday the 13th.
~
Numerologists consider 12 a complete number, for example there are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac and 12 apostles of Jesus, Thomas Fernsler, an associate policy scientist in the Mathematics and Science Education Resource Center at the University of Delaware told National Geographic. Thirteen then becomes associated with bad luck because the number is "a little beyond completeness. The number becomes restless or squirmy."
~
The great hip-hop artist, Tupac Shakur, (allegedly) died on Friday, September 13, 1996 at the age of 25.
~
Whenever January 1st falls on a Thursday (except in Leap Years), February, March, and November will all have a Friday the 13th. This will happen 11 times in the 21st century. If January 1st of a Leap Year falls on a Sunday, the months of January, April, and July will each have a Friday the 13th.
 
If it’s any solace, thirteen hasn’t always been an unlucky number, and many cultures view it as lucky. The wise ancient Egyptians saw 13 as lucky because they linked it to the afterlife which, in their tradition, was the 13th stage of life. If that still doesn’t help, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have some extra good luck charms.

Horseshoes- Magnets

Brown Horse in Horse Shoe Hoof Good Luck Bridle iPad Case

Lucky Irish Four Leaf Clover Shoe Bottlecap Charm

Good Luck Wood Round Keychain

Posted by: Karenna Pullen