Friday, May 13, 2011

Happy Friday the 13th!

I've always loved Friday the 13th and I've never felt it was an unlucky day for me. In fact, if I had to guess, I would say most Fridays that fall on the 13th have been just the opposite.

Here are a fun few facts about this infamous day.

Phobia of  Frid. the 13th:  friggatriskaidekaphobia

Wikipedia:  Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century's The Canterbury Tales,[3] and many other professions have regarded Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys or begin new projects. Black Friday has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s.[6][7] It has also been suggested that Friday has been considered an unlucky day because, according to Christian scripture and tradition, Jesus was crucified on a Friday.[8 

A theory by author Charles Panati:
The actual origin of the superstition, though, appears also to be a tale in Norse mythology. Friday is named for Frigga, the free-spirited goddess of love and fertility. When Norse and Germanic tribes converted to Christianity, Frigga was banished in shame to a mountaintop and labeled a witch. It was believed that every Friday, the spiteful goddess convened a meeting with eleven other witches, plus the devil — a gathering of thirteen — and plotted ill turns of fate for the coming week. For many centuries in Scandinavia, Friday was known as "Witches' Sabbath."[9]

And last but not least, King Phillip ordered the arrest of all the Knights of Templar on Friday 13, 1307.

Just a few details to think about. For me, it's a great day, a happy day, a lucky day.
 

12 comments:

Blaze McRob said...

Blogger was super-wonky today. My Norse ancestors might have had a point.

anthony stemke said...

First time I've learned of the significance of fri 13th.

Very interesting post, Thank You.

Belle said...

I just knew witches had to been in there somewhere! I've read about the killing of the Knight Templars. I didn't know it was Friday the 13th. Interesting.

Old Kitty said...

Well Blogger went pear shaped yesterday so I guess it's all true! :-) Thanks for the fab info about such a scary day! Take care
x

Anonymous said...

Hello new 'gang' member here! :)

How about getting 666 Twitter followers on Friday the 13th?

Creepy right?

Donna K. Weaver said...

Interesting, isn't it? As a kid, 13 was my favorite number.

13 was also the number of people at the Last Supper.

Jane Isfeld Still said...

I LOVE Fri 13th. 13 is my lucky number. Don't know why. Maybe just because I like to fly in the face of convention. LOL

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

I was so busy yesterday, that I didn't even stop to think about it being Friday the 13th! Yeah, Blogger gobbled up one of my posts yesterday, and then spit it back minus the comments. I've always liked Friday the 13th, too. Loved hearing all these historical notes about it!

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Oh, cool, I wrote about Friday the 13th yesterday, too, but there's very little duplication in our posts. (Lots of fun facts to chose from, huh?)

I like the number 13, too. I was born on the 13th, and always thought it was kinda neat when my birthday fell on a Friday.

Jenny said...

Fun post! Aside from the blogger mess, my Friday the 13th was relatively uneventful...except for my kids not having school :-)

Lisa Ricard Claro said...

Cool info. The name sounds made up. :) My son is superstitious about Wednesdays...and it does seem to be the day when crazy stuff happens. Friday the 13th has never been bad for me, so I'm not superstitious about it. But Wednesdays? Scary!

Stephanie said...

I know that Mary Kay Ash started her company on Friday the 13th, and always considered it a lucky day and liked the number 13. Obviously she did ok - created a billion dollar company :)

Fun post! I like hearing those stories.