Friday the 13th is a day which a lot of people consider to be unlucky and many people dread. If anything special is happening on a Friday the 13th then people assume that it will go wrong, whether it is an exam, wedding, meeting or whatever. However, many people do not know why the day is considered to be unlucky.
The history of the date is a little shaky. There are 19th century references to the date being unlucky, but many folklores start being passed down orally and so there may not be written records for a long time after the stories started. There are there several theories made up as to the tradition of the day being one to be fearful of but they are really down to guesswork.
In numerology, the number twelve is one of completeness which is why there are twelve signs of the zodiac and twelve months of the year. The number thirteen is thought to interfere with this completeness and therefore is not liked. Many people think that it is because there were 13 people at the table at the last supper, but there is also a story in Norse mythology where there were 13 people at a table for a meal and one of them later died.
Friday has been considered to be unlucky for even further back in time. There are even references in the Canterbury Tales which was written in the 14th century that refers to Friday being unlucky. There is also reference to Jesus being crucified on a Friday. Therefore many feel that it is a Christian belief that Friday the 13th is unlucky.
However. There are other theories dating back further. In Norse mythology there was a goddess of love and fertility names Frigga where the word Friday was derived from. She was banished to a mountaintop where she met up with eleven witches and the devil every Friday.
There is also a reference to Friday the thirteenth in the Knights templar which was recently popularized in the novel The Da Vinci Code but many think that this is quite a modern day invention.
There is also a theory that there was reference to the Friday the thirteenth with regards to the battle of Hastings where the king decided to go in to battle on Friday the thirteenth rather than resting his troops for a day and the king was killed and it was therefore thought to be an unlucky day.
However, in some countries different dates are considered to be unlucky instead.
It has been found that people are so worried about the day being unlucky that many do not travel on the dat and some do not even get out of bed. However, flight companies have reported that there is no significant lower amount of flights happening on Friday the thirteenth as compared to other dates.
With regards to the risk of accidents, there is conflicting data with some statistics showing there are less accidents on that day but some shows that there are. However, people do tend to drink more alcohol on a Friday which could lead to more accidents. Also some people are more cautious on Friday the thirteenth which could lead to less accidents taking place.
A lot of horror films are released on Friday the thirteenth. There have also been some storms such as Hurricane Charley, Friday the 13th storm and the Andes plane crash.