Today is Friday 13th. This date is considered unlucky because It is believed that if the thirteenth day of a month falls on a Friday, it will be a day of bad luck. In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year and any month’s thirteenth day will fall on a Friday if the month starts on a Sunday.
The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia (Frigga being the name of the Norse goddess for whom “Friday” is named and triskaidekaphobia meaning fear of the number thirteen), or paraskevidekatriaphobia. The latter word was derived in 1911 and first appeared in a mainstream source in 1953.Several theories have been proposed about the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition. One theory states that it is a modern amalgamation of two older superstitions: that thirteen is an unlucky number and that Friday is an unlucky day. In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve hours of the clock, twelve gods of Olympus, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, the 12 Descendants of Muhammad Imams, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness. There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper or a Norse myth, that having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners.
Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century’s The Canterbury Tales, 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. 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. One author, noting that references are all but nonexistent before 1907 but frequently seen thereafter, has argued that its popularity derives from the publication that year of Thomas W. Lawson’s popular novel Friday, the Thirteenth, in which an unscrupulous broker takes advantage of the superstition to create a Wall Street panic on a Friday the 13th. Records of the superstition are rarely found before the 20th century, when it became extremely common. The connection between the Friday the 13th superstition and the Knights Templar was popularized in the 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code. However, experts agree that this is a relatively recent correlation, and most likely a modern-day invention. Although according to many Freemasons, this date corresponds with the slaughtering of the Knights Templar by the Church.
Breaking a mirror
One of the longer sentences dished out by Lady Luck, the superstition follows that breaking a mirror will leave you doomed for seven years. The generally accepted explanation is that the reflection in a mirror represents a soul, so damaging a mirror corrupts the soul of the one that broke it. Some believe that the reason for the seven years is that the Romans (who were the first glass mirror-makers) believe that life renewed itself after every seven years, so the soul wouldn’t be fully restored until the next seven-year cycle had passed. However if you are one of the more superstitious amongst us, fear not as there are steps you can take in order to save the best part of your next decade (just don’t walk under them)
Throw salt over your shoulder
Grind the broken pieces into dust
Bury the pieces under a tree during a full moon
Place the broken pieces in a river running south
Touch the broken piece against a gravestone
Black cat
The beliefs surrounding the luck of black cats varies across the world, with some cultures believing them to be lucky and others a bad omen. The most widespread belief is that if a black cat crosses your intended path, bad luck will befall you. Black cats have often been associated with being the familiars of witches and during the Middle Ages, these superstitions led people to kill black cats. This was said to increase the population of rats and hence the spread of the Black Death (Bubonic Plague). However, according to Daniel Defoe – who was alive during the spread of the disease but wrote a fictional account of the Plague – in 1665 the Lord Mayor ordered thousands of cats and many dogs to be killed as they were believed to be spreading the disease, despite it now being understood as the fleas on the rats that were responsible.
Walking under a ladder
This superstition is said to arise from early Christian teachings that an object with three points represents the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A ladder leaning up against a building was seen as a triangle, and to pass through this triangle by walking under the ladder was seen as breaking the Trinity, putting you in league with Satan. Of course it could simply be bad luck for you and the person at the top of the ladder if you accidentally knock it.
Opening an Umbrella indoors
The most common origination of the myth stems from the days when umbrellas were used mainly as protection against the sun in Ancient Egypt. It was designed to capture the goddess of the sky’s (Nut) essence and so were suitable for use only by the highest nobility, and those seen to be holding one were seen to be bringer of bad luck. To open one indoors would also be to insult the sun god (Ra) and invite his wrath on everyone in the household. One legend surrounding the superstition is that it was invented specifically to cut down on the number of accidents that sprang from the umbrella when they had pointy and dangerous metal spokes in Victorian England.
Seeing a Magpie
To see a single Magpie is considered unlucky, so you may hear people greeting the bird with ‘Hello Mr Magpie. How/Where is your wife?’ to allay the bad luck. Magpies are often seen as sneaky due to their penchant for shiny objects, such as jewellery and coins, their lack of a pretty singing voice, and their habit of eating the eggs found in bird nests. An old English folk tale states that when Jesus was crucified on the cross, all of the birds sang to comfort him with the exception of the magpie. In Scotland they’re considered a sign of impending death, but in China spotting one is regarded as good luck. Generally they’re not all bad though, only when alone: The old rhyme goes: ‘One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a girl, Four for a boy, Five for silver, Six for gold, Seven for a secret never to be told.’
Spilling salt
For many years, salt was an extremely rare commodity and so the most basic reason for considering it unlucky to spill it was to do with its cost. A valuable preservative, it was also linked with health and longevity so some cultures believed that it might be bad luck to spill salt since it could reduce your longevity or happiness. One prevalent explanation of the superstition is that Judas spilled the salt, which is depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. It is also a religious symbol as it is used to make Holy water, and meals at the witches’ sabbath were thought to be salt-free, as it was also believed to ward off evil spirits. A German proverb held that ‘whoever spills salt arouses enmity’. The most common anecdote is tossing a pinch of the spilt salt over your left shoulder, into the face of the Devil who lurks there.
Full moon
Full Moons are traditionally linked with temporary insomnia and insanity due to the folklore that madness can occur in cycles with the moon, hence the term lunatic or lunacy. It is also associated with lycanthropy as the mythological werewolf is said to appear when full moons are out. It was also thought that sleeping in direct moonlight caused madness or blindness and in Italy, France and Germany, it was said that a man could turn into a werewolf if he, on a certain Wednesday or Friday, slept outside on a summer night with the full moon shining directly on him. Various facts have also been claimed around Full Moons appearing such as Police in Toledo, Ohio claimed that crime rises by five percent during nights with a full moon and the study of the Bradford Royal Infirmary found that dog bites were twice as common during a full moon.
Treading on cracks in pavement
The fear of stepping on cracks in the pavement is said to originate from an ancient fear of letting the soul out of the Square, the four corners are an ancient symbol of balance and perfection which is said to be disrupted by stepping on the gap between paving slabs.
Never say ‘Macbeth’
According to the theatrical superstition called the Scottish curse, speaking the name Macbeth inside a theatre will cause tragedy and so the lead character is most often referred to as the Scottish King or Scottish Lord. Those who believe in the curse claim that real spells are cast in the three witches scene. Productions of Macbeth are said to have been plagued with accidents, many ending in death. The legend of the curse dates back to the premiere of the play when an actor died because a real dagger was mistakenly used instead of the prop.
Peter Hook the ex-bass player with Joy Division and New order was born 13February 1956. Joy Division were formed in 1976 in Manchester, originally named Warsaw the band consisted of IanCurtis (vocals and guitar)Bernard Sumner (guitar and keyboards) Peter Hook (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Stephen Morris on drums and percussion. Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences to develop a sound and style that pioneered the post-punk movement of the late 1970s. According to music critic Jon Savage, the band “were not punk but were directly inspired by its energy”. Their self-released 1978 debut EP, An Ideal for Living, caught the attention of the Manchester television personality Tony Wilson. Joy Division’s debut album, Unknown Pleasures, was released in 1979 on Wilson’s independent record label, Factory Records, and drew critical acclaim from the British press. Despite the band’s growing success, vocalist Ian Curtis was beset with depression and personal difficulties, including a dissolving marriage and his diagnosis of epilepsy. Curtis found it increasingly difficult to perform at live concerts, and often had seizures during performances. On the eve of the band’s first American tour in May 1980, Curtis committed suicide. Joy Division’s posthumously released second album, Closer (1980), and the single “Love Will Tear Us Apart” became the band’s highest charting releases.
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