Avoid black cats, don’t walk under ladders. There is even a made-up word for it, paraskevidekatriaphobia; the specific fear of Friday the 13th. Are you paying attention all day today? Or are you not superstitious at all and luck is completely on your side every day? We would like to know: is Friday the 13th really an unlucky day for you?
André Hazes refused to perform on Friday the 13th. Hotels and skyscrapers in the United States lack the thirteenth floor. You often don’t find a 13th row on airplanes and in motorsport no number 13 is assigned. It is not entirely clear where the fear of that number comes from.
There are researchers who say that on Friday the witches came together and that is why people are afraid of that day. And in the Roman Empire, criminals were executed on Fridays. Just like in Great Britain. Not a day to look forward to.
The fact that 13 is an unlucky number for people could come from a Norse saga about a quarrel between the gods, in which the thirteenth in the group shot the god of joy. But there are also explanations from Christianity. Christ is said to have been crucified on Friday the 13th.
Anyway. Friday the 13th remains a special day. But is it really an unlucky day for you?