Thomas
2005-05-14 00:13:56 UTC
While refraining from walking underneath ladders, avoiding black cats
and pitching salt over my shoulder like a maniac in case of a broken
mirror, I've always wondered about the history of Friday the 13th
becoming an unlucky day. Notwithstanding good ol' Jason, and all the
gang in the movie Friday the 13th, I've stumbled along the following
information regarding the Friday 13th phenomenon.
Ominous Number
So how did Friday the 13th become such an unlucky day?
Dossey, also a folklore historian and author of Holiday Folklore,
Phobias and Fun, said fear of Friday the 13th is rooted in ancient,
separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and the day Friday.
The two unlucky entities ultimately combined to make one super unlucky
day.
Dossey traces the fear of 13 to a Norse myth about 12 gods having a
dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13th
guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the
blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy
and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow.
"Balder died and the whole Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned. It
was a bad, unlucky day," said Dossey. From that moment on, the number
13 has been considered ominous and foreboding.
There is also a biblical reference to the unlucky number 13. Judas,
the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Supper.
Meanwhile, in ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of
12. The 13th was believed to be the devil.
Thomas Fernsler, an associate policy scientist in the Mathematics and
Science Education Resource Center at the University of Delaware in
Newark, said the number 13 suffers because of its position after 12.
According to Fernsler, numerologists consider 12 a "complete" number.
There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of
Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles
of Jesus.
In exceeding 12 by 1, Fernsler said 13's association with bad luck
"has to do with just being a little beyond completeness. The number
becomes restless or squirmy."
This fear of 13 is strong in today's world. According to Dossey, more
than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13th floor. Many airports skip
the 13th gate. Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is
addressed as 12 and a half. In France socialites known as the
quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves available as 14th
guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.
Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are
known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.
As for Friday, it is well known among Christians as the day Jesus was
crucified. Some biblical scholars believe Eve tempted Adam with the
forbidden fruit on Friday. Perhaps most significant is a belief that
Abel was slain by Cain on Friday the 13th.
And that's.....the rest of the story.
[Thomas-5/13/05-(Fri.)]
Kalia i ka nu'u.....
e hawaii e kuuone hanau e.....
Aloha ia oe mai kai pu`uwai !!
**You posted to the group-Reply to the group.**
Unsolicited E-mail will be subject to legal action.
I reserve the right to publicly post and/or ridicule any
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© (Since the copyright of Usenet articles is ridiculous, and frankly too
pompous, and unenforceable, feel free to use any, and/or the entire above
article, that reflects solely my personal opinions for your personal use.
For that matter, if you can find a commercial use, and someone is stupid
enough to actually pay money for this crap, more power to you !!)
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." ~ Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
and pitching salt over my shoulder like a maniac in case of a broken
mirror, I've always wondered about the history of Friday the 13th
becoming an unlucky day. Notwithstanding good ol' Jason, and all the
gang in the movie Friday the 13th, I've stumbled along the following
information regarding the Friday 13th phenomenon.
Ominous Number
So how did Friday the 13th become such an unlucky day?
Dossey, also a folklore historian and author of Holiday Folklore,
Phobias and Fun, said fear of Friday the 13th is rooted in ancient,
separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and the day Friday.
The two unlucky entities ultimately combined to make one super unlucky
day.
Dossey traces the fear of 13 to a Norse myth about 12 gods having a
dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13th
guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the
blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy
and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow.
"Balder died and the whole Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned. It
was a bad, unlucky day," said Dossey. From that moment on, the number
13 has been considered ominous and foreboding.
There is also a biblical reference to the unlucky number 13. Judas,
the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Supper.
Meanwhile, in ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of
12. The 13th was believed to be the devil.
Thomas Fernsler, an associate policy scientist in the Mathematics and
Science Education Resource Center at the University of Delaware in
Newark, said the number 13 suffers because of its position after 12.
According to Fernsler, numerologists consider 12 a "complete" number.
There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of
Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles
of Jesus.
In exceeding 12 by 1, Fernsler said 13's association with bad luck
"has to do with just being a little beyond completeness. The number
becomes restless or squirmy."
This fear of 13 is strong in today's world. According to Dossey, more
than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13th floor. Many airports skip
the 13th gate. Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is
addressed as 12 and a half. In France socialites known as the
quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves available as 14th
guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.
Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are
known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.
As for Friday, it is well known among Christians as the day Jesus was
crucified. Some biblical scholars believe Eve tempted Adam with the
forbidden fruit on Friday. Perhaps most significant is a belief that
Abel was slain by Cain on Friday the 13th.
And that's.....the rest of the story.
[Thomas-5/13/05-(Fri.)]
Kalia i ka nu'u.....
e hawaii e kuuone hanau e.....
Aloha ia oe mai kai pu`uwai !!
**You posted to the group-Reply to the group.**
Unsolicited E-mail will be subject to legal action.
I reserve the right to publicly post and/or ridicule any
abusive E-mail.
© (Since the copyright of Usenet articles is ridiculous, and frankly too
pompous, and unenforceable, feel free to use any, and/or the entire above
article, that reflects solely my personal opinions for your personal use.
For that matter, if you can find a commercial use, and someone is stupid
enough to actually pay money for this crap, more power to you !!)
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." ~ Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)