Triskaidekaphobia:
Fear of the number thirteen.
Paraskevidekatriaphobia:
Fear of Friday the 13th.
An obviously irrational concept that a mere number can bring
bad luck to someone. Or that a specific
day of the week can be unlucky. But that
doesn't stop us from dwelling on the possibility.
This week gives us Friday the 13th. The tradition of Friday being a day of bad
luck dates back centuries with some of the more common theories linking it to
significant events in the Bible believed to have taken place on Friday such as
the Crucifixion of Christ, Eve offering Adam the apple in the Garden of Eden,
the beginning of the great flood.
Many sources for the superstition surrounding the number
thirteen and its association with bad luck also derive from Christianity with
the Last Supper being cited as the origin.
Judas was the thirteenth person to be seated at the table.
And when you put the two bad luck symbols together you get
Friday the 13th…the day associated with misfortune.
One legend of the origin of Friday the 13th as
unlucky comes from the persecution of the Knights Templar. Philip IV of France
borrowed enormous sums of money from the very wealthy Templars to finance a war
with England. An ineffectual king and an even worse military commander, Philip
was easily defeated. He saw a way of both currying favor with the Pope and eliminating
his huge debt. On that fateful day of Friday, October 13, 1307 he ordered all
Templars arrested and their property seized. The Grandmaster of the order,
Jacques DeMolay was thrown in prison along with several other high-ranking
members of the order. The Knights Templar, which had dominated medieval life
for two centuries, was no more. Unfortunately for Philip, the Templars had
learned of his planned treachery before hand. Many of them escaped and their
vast stores of treasure were hidden from the King’s soldiers. Jacques DeMolay
was burned alive after being tortured when he refused to admit to any
wrongdoing. Another legend that has also persisted is that Jacques DeMolay
cursed both Philip IV and Pope Clement V, as he died. Philip and Clement died within
months of DeMolay’s death.
Superstition is a belief or notion not based on reason or
knowledge. An irrational belief. Lots of superstitions came into being during
the Dark Ages, a time when living conditions were so severe that people reached
out to anything that might bring them help and solace with the results being
explanations for what seemed unexplainable at the time. Religious beliefs and lack of scientific
knowledge helped to spawn many superstitions.
Superstitions differ from culture to culture, but we all
have them even if it's only paying surface homage to the concept. We don't believe in the good luck vs. bad
luck of chain letters, yet it often comes down to saying what's the harm, then sending the letter on to avoid breaking the
chain.
We often follow the tradition of the superstition without
really knowing why it's the traditional
thing to do. If we blow out all the
candles on our birthday cake with one breath while making a silent wish, then
the wish will come true. When expressing
a desire for good luck (we'll be able to go on the picnic if it doesn't rain),
we grin, then we knock on wood as we
emit an embarrassed chuckle.
In Western folklore, many superstitions are associated with
bad luck. In addition to Friday the 13th
there's walking under a ladder, having a black cat cross your path, spilling
salt, stepping on a crack, and breaking a mirror among others.
In addition to cultural superstitions, there's also certain
occupations that evoke various rituals to bring on good luck. It seems to me that gamblers and sports
figures have the most superstitions and rituals to insure good luck.
Do you have any superstitions that you hold dear? Are they more of a traditional situation
handed down through your family or are they superstitions that have come down
through history?
And I'm sure there won't be any unpleasantries or bizarre
accidents this Friday (knock on wood).
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