friday the 13 th origins of the superstition. unlucky friday garden of eden, tower of babel, flood,...
TRANSCRIPT
Unlucky Friday
• Garden of Eden, Tower of Babel, Flood, Solomon’s Temple destroyed, & Crucifiction
• Pagan Rome—Execution Day• (Later) Britain—Hangman’s Day• Pagan/Pre-Christian Sabbath (so unholy unlucky, like
trips, & enemies tied to witchcraft: “Witches’ Sabbath”)• Black Friday, stock market crashes (1800s on)• Unlucky to start trip, begin new projects
Unlucky #13
• #12 completeness• #13 irregular, transgressing completeness• Egyptian beliefs in stages of life/death• Last Supper• Primitive man, counting• Patriarchal culture villifying women• Hindus at dinner/Vikings at dinner
Combination
• Origin unclear & relatively modern (1900s)• Might just be unlucky Friday & unlucky 13 = more
unlucky day• Popularity from book, Friday the 13th (stockbroker’s
crash)
Phobia of Friday the 13th
• “friggatriskaidekaphobia”• “frigga” (Frigga goddess/Friday) + “triskaidekaphobia”
(fear of #13)
• Or “paraskevidekatriaphobia”• “para” (Gr. Friday) + “dekatreis” (thirteen) +• “phobia” (fear of)