TORMENT OF FRIDAY THE 13TH

by Earlie Doriman
By the way, BLOGGER.COM has been unavailable since yesterday night and so this article was not posted right away. I waited until midnight but to no avail. Went to sleep and the first thing I checked when I jumped off the bed this morning was my Blogger dashboard and was extremely disappointed to find it was still unavailable. Is it a bad luck waiting to happen on Friday the 13th or just a very adjoining coincidence?




What is scary about Friday the 13th. It is just a day like any other ordinary days. What is so significant (or unlucky) about number 13 to frighten most people especially when it falls on the Friday? It is just a number or a date just like any other. The legitimate origins of why this date is dauntingly unlucky are as hazy as superstitions. There is truly nothing logical to make a serious quandary about it, but the way people respond and behave, make it more compelling that there must really be something worth a second look.

Well, for one there is no single country in the world, which declares a non-working holiday every Friday the 13th. That very well convinces me to believe that there is definitely no threat to safety whatsoever. There were indeed catastrophic events around the world that could be associated to 13 or Friday the 13th. Yet, disasters, calamities, or accidents happen anytime and not on particular number combinations. Numbers should not govern our lives. However, historical events, beliefs, superstitions, and traditions might provide a quick understanding why Friday the 13th has been particularly considered a bad luck (or good luck?).
An ancient belief still rings to most of us today that number 13 is an unlucky figure. Plus the fact that Friday also carries that similar stain, makes the combination doubly condemned. The Romans thought that number 13 was associated with death and devastation. During the time when the Catholic Church persecuted heretics, it was Friday the 13th when it ordered the arrest of the Knights Templar.
Few legends suggested that the thirteenth guest at a banquet is a spirit of evil. Friday the 13th scares most of us because the spirit of the evil loiters around and is very strong to rebuke. Christians have a biblical basis for this belief too and is said to have come from the Last Supper, the number brings bad luck as in the case of Christ who was the 13th person after the 12 disciples. Others believed that the first person to leave a gathering of 13 people will die before the year ends.
Many events in the past, which were obviously associated with number 13, had unfortunate endings. For instance, the Apollo 13 space mission of the United States was unsuccessful in its quest when on the 13th of April 1970, one of its compartment exploded that caused oxygen leakage in the spacecraft at 13:13 pm. Annually, every 13th of the month, due to absenteeism, cancellations of trains and planes, and a consequent decline in business activity, the United States lost an income of about a billion dollars. In Paris, France, and in many countries around the world, no building has been built that bears number 13. Yet number 13 is considered lucky for the Chinese. The Sikhs celebrate their New Year on the 13th of April.
Signs of Bad Luck and Good Luck are universal beliefs. Symbols and figures were used to identify these superstitions although interpreted differently at different places and cultures. Filipinos do believe that black cats are bad luck when they cross your path, but people in the UK think the opposite, rather they thought that white cats bring bad omen.
A horseshoe has a significant meaning to some European; they think that if you find a horseshoe and the open space is facing you, it will bring you good luck. They would in fact hang horseshoes, as a tradition, above their doorways to let the luck flow into their homes. Generally, breaking mirrors, are believed to be unlucky, and this belief is thought to have a biblical origin. It is an aged theory that one’s reflection is an image of his soul, so anything that changes this reflection, like when you break a mirror, may bring evil.
Many more beliefs, which to some were regarded as myths or superstitions have captured not only our thinking but eventually influenced our way of life. I see nothing wrong with it, and believing will not make me a lesser being though some would surely seek a level-headed reasons of believing an obviously illogical, unscientific notion, believers do not actually owe any explanation to those who do not care to give meaning to it. Good luck or bad luck happens in ones heart.


References:
Wikipedia
World of Facts by Russell Ash