History of Friday the 13th

From LoveToKnow Paranormal

If you've ever wondered about the history of Friday the 13th, the following article details the many sources that make up this powerful superstition that still exists throughout the world. This fated day is not only a calendar date, it's now a cultural symbol that represents a number of underlying collective human fears.

Why fear Friday the 13th...

The History of Friday the 13th Explained

If you ask anyone today, even small children, what Friday the 13th means to them, the most common answer is "bad luck". While it's easy to explain away adult belief in this superstition as a phobia known as "triskaidekaphobia", or resulting from past experiences or learned behavior, that doesn't really explain why even young children understand the dangers and spookiness associated with this famous "evil" day. Where do children learn about Friday the 13th? The answer may come from existing literature and social media that's so prevalent throughout society today.

Ancient History of Friday the 13th

Historians are able to trace the superstition surrounding this date all the way back to a Norse myth where twelve gods have a dinner party in their heaven. A thirteenth god, named Loki, walks in uninvited. Apparently adept at crashing parties, this "13th guest" is able to convince the God of Darkness to shoot the God known as "Balder the Beautiful". This event sends the Earth into a period of darkness and mourning forever marking the number 13 as a number representing very bad luck. The tradition throughout both Hindu and Viking cultures was that inviting thirteen people to a dinner party would bring bad luck.

Was this an isolated myth told only within Norse culture? Not at all. In ancient Babylon, there was a set list of laws called the "Code of Hammurabi", that dates back to 1700 BC. In this list, the Babylonians decided to do without a thirteenth law. In ancient Egypt, it was a common belief that life consists of 12 stages, and the final 13th stage represents death.

Religion, Goddesses and Friday the 13th

The Christian bible presents quite a volume of numbers to its readers, so it's no surprise that one can find the number thirteen in a very significant story within those pages. At the last supper, the thirteenth guest to arrive was Judas. On the Friday after that supper (Good Friday), Judas betrayed Jesus and, in return for payment, turned him over to the soldiers who arrested him. For Christians, this is enough to mark Friday the 13th on their calendars as a very unlucky day.

However, even before Christianity, religions made mention of the thirteenth. Pre-Christian pagan cultures held a belief in a female deity, drawn from Norse culture, that represented fertility and marriage. She was worshipped on Fridays. However, the passage of time and the effects of Christian beliefs transformed this "good" female goddess into a witch and made the day of her worship an evil day.

The Knights Templars

Many people believe that the very first Friday the 13th took place on October 13th, 1307. It was on that day that France's King Philip IV arrested, tortured and executed the Knights of the Templar, a Catholic order that protected travelers in Jerusalem. The Knights were somewhat wealthy and powerful; they even lent money to the King himself in order to fund his wars. These lending practices would lead to their downfall, as the King became envious of their power and wealth, and when the Knights Templar refused to lend the King any more money, he decided to end the Knights Templar forever. Many people believe that when all of the virtuous and godly Knights Templars were murdered, a curse fell upon the human race for the rest of eternity.

Wall Street and the 13th

Is there also historical evidence that bad things happen on the dreaded 13th? Unfortunately, bad things happen all the time. However, people are able to pull together the many bad things that happen on this ominous Friday as evidence that the day is very unlucky. On Wall Street, this superstition is stronger than ever, and the belief is based on a few stock market events that strike fear into the heart of wall street brokers every time the date rolls around.

Boston stockbroker Thomas Larson wrote Friday the Thirteenth, a book about a horrible businessman who attempted to crash the stock market on that date. This book was one of the best selling books of it's time, and it was even made into a silent film in 1916.
Black Monday, October 19th, 1987, happened during a year when there were three Fridays that landed on the 13th.
On October 13, 1989, the Dow experienced the second largest drop in its history (at the time).

The fear of Friday the 13th may actually be a self-fulfilling prophecy for Wall Street. On these dates, experts report that almost a billion dollars are lost by businesses because people are afraid to travel, go shopping or sometimes even go in to work.

Final Words

Whether or not this unlucky day of the month is truly unlucky is still up for debate. Many experts in human consciousness believe that people have a very powerful ability to "think" their own destiny. This means that if you believe that you will be successful, you'll be successful. If you believe that you will fail, you will likely fail. The fact that you can create your own destiny based on your pre-existing expectations for your own future may explain why people who believe that they will experience something unlucky related to the number 13 usually do.

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