Friday the 13th has been considered an unlucky date for many years. This Friday and Friday, Dec. 13 are the 2024 entries in the unlucky category of the calendar. But how did this date become unlucky? How did the number 13 get its unfortunate reputation?
National Geographic offers this: “It’s hard to know exactly when Friday the 13th became thought of as unlucky, but it likely comes from the Christian religion. For example, in the Bible, Judas — a person who is said to have betrayed Jesus — was the 13th guest at the Last Supper. Also in the Bible, many unfortunate things happened on Fridays.” Now, I’m not sure how Judas got the Number 13 ranking among the Apostles, but it’s a theory.
Another story comes from Norse mythology and involves a party being held for 12 gods in Valhalla. Loki wasn’t invited, and he did what Loki does — he arranged for one god to shoot another with a poison-tipped arrow. The killing of Norse gods through cursed archery is a verifiable party foul and absolute buzzkill.
In other theories, King Philip IV of France arrested the Knights Templar on Friday, Oct. 13, 1307. This not-so-nice monarch had the unmitigated gall to convince then-Pope Clement V to torture these unfortunate knights and then burn them at the stake. One could certainly call that unlucky.
Wikipedia offers: “According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, an estimated 17-21 million people in the United States are affected by a fear of this day, making it the most feared day and date in history. Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business, taking flights or even getting out of bed. It has been estimated that $800-900 million is lost in business on this day.”
In a Tarot card deck, XIII is the card of Death, with the usual illustration of the apocalyptic Pale Horse with its Grim Reaper rider. Let’s not forget the namesake movie franchise and all the unlucky victims portrayed therein.
Regardless of its association with Friday, the number 13 itself is often considered extremely unlucky. People with a fear of the number 13 suffer from triskaidekaphobia — an actual recognized phobia. This is responsible for many tall buildings not having a 13th floor. Actually, they do have a 13th floor; they just call it the 14th floor and pretend 13 just doesn’t exist in the building’s architecture.
Sadly, not all 13-related events are truly unlucky. Although Apollo 13 wasn’t able to complete its mission of landing on the moon, it’s extremely lucky that the astronauts on board were actually able to make it safely back to Earth.
Getting 13 doughnuts in a baker’s dozen is perfectly okay. How could an extra doughnut be unlucky?
In the Jewish faith, 13 is the age where a boy is bar mitzvah-ed.
These here United States began as 13 British colonies — nothing unlucky about that. And the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery and indentured servitude.
And finally, legendary Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino wore the number 13 on his jersey for his entire career. His is one of only three numbers the Dolphins have retired, the other two being Bob Griese’s number 12, and Larry Czonka’s number 39.
One could argue that his association with the number 13 is the reason that he retired without a Super Bowl championship, but that would be just triskaidekaphobic.
– Catch John live Thursdays at Sparky’s Landing, this Friday at Isla Bella, and Sunday afternoons at Skipjack Tiki. Find his music anywhere you download or stream your music. www.johnbartus.com • johnbartus.hearnow.com
