Dori Week 8- The History of 13

    Hi everyone! So, today in my AP Spanish class, we were talking about the number 13, and its superstition in Spanish culture and here in the United States. As per usual, I’ve also been listening to Taylor Swift’s music recently (stream Red (Taylor’s Version)), and what’s her lucky number? 13. My grandma’s lucky number was 13--or 31--as well, and overall, 13 seems to be a fortunate number in Judaism since that’s when boys are bar mitzvahed and many girls are bat mitzvahed. I was wondering then, why is 13 such a complex number? Why is it unlucky for so many people? Where did Friday the 13th even come from? Well, you’re about to find out!

    Many believe that the bad luck of the number 13 originates from the Bible, as Judas, who is known to have betrayed Jesus, was apparently the 13th guest to be seated at the Last Supper. This superstition carries over to today as some people refuse to have 13 people be seated for a meal, even if it means putting a stuffed animal in a 14th chair. Similarly, in Norse mythology, it is thought that a “dinner party of the gods was ruined by the 13th guest called Loki, who caused the world to be plunged into darkness” (bbc.co.uk). As a result, there are now hotels that don’t have a room 13, buildings that don’t have a 13th floor (more than 80% of the hi-rise buildings in the country!), airlines that don’t have a row 13 in their planes, and hospitals that don’t have a room 13. 

    Now, why is Friday the 13th the designated unlucky day? Well, that’s because Friday is actually historically known as the unluckiest day of the week! It doesn’t seem to be exactly known why, but Friday used to be known as Hangman’s Day in Britain since that was typically when people were hanged if they were condemned to death. This combination of both Friday and 13 being “unlucky” makes it the superstitious day it’s known to be now. In fact, there’s a phobia of Friday the 13th, called paraskevidekatriaphobia (have fun trying to pronounce that), and financial losses of about 800 million dollars occur annually since people tend to avoid marriage, travel, and sometimes even work on this day.

    Personally, I like the number 13, love Fridays, and don’t really believe that there’s bad luck around either. However, I will point out that Friday, March 13th, 2020 was when we shut down for COVID-19, so I guess interpret that the way you will. Let me know what you think of the number 13 and if you find it lucky, unlucky, or neutral! 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/16543009 

https://www.history.com/news/whats-so-unlucky-about-the-number-13