FMT Lifestyle explores the history behind this superstition, and why the number 13 and Fridays deserve better.
What’s the day and date today? Oh, dear! Friday the 13th? It’s said to be an unlucky day, is it not? Especially in October, a month culturally seen by some as being spooky?
In the west, the number 12 is often depicted in a positive light, associated with the idea of completeness. Think the 12 months of the year, or the 12 zodiac signs, or the 12 days of Christmas. Depending on who you ask, Christian tradition upholds that Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, may have been the 13th guest at the Last Supper attended by Jesus and his 12 disciples.
The Templars were arrested and executed under the orders of King Philip IV of France, who accused them of committing various crimes against the Christian faith. For example, Buckingham Palace was hit by German bombs in September 1940 on a Friday the 13th. More recently, the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia sank in 2012 on a Friday the 13th.