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EspañolFRIDAY THE 13TH
A 'Friday' occurring on the '13th' day of any month is considered to be a day of bad luck in English, German, Polish, Bulgarian and Portuguese-speaking cultures around the globe.
Similar superstitions exist in some other traditions. In Greece or Spain, for example, Tuesday the 13th takes the same role. The fear of Friday the 13th is called 'paraskavedekatriaphobia', a word that is derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Παρασκευή, δεκατρείς, and φοβία, meaning Friday, thirteen, and phobia respectively; alternative spellings include paskevodekatriaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia, and is a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a ''phobia'' (fear) of the number thirteen. Friday the 13th is also called "black Friday" in many countries.
| Contents |
| History of Friday the 13th |
| Effects in people and cultures |
| Occurrence |
| Planned events on Fridays the 13th |
| Natural events on Fridays the 13th |
| Notable births and deaths |
| References |
| External links |
History of Friday the 13th
No historical date has been verifiably identified as the origin of the superstition. Before the 20th century, although there is evidence that the number 13 was considered unlucky, and Friday was considered unlucky, there was no link between them. The first documented mention of a "Friday the 13th" is generally listed as occurring in the early 20th century.[1][2][3]
However, many popular stories exist about the origin of the concept:
★ That the biblical Eve offered the fruit to Adam on a Friday, and that the slaying of Abel happened on a Friday (though the Bible does not identify the days of the week when these events occurred).[4]
★ The Last Supper which occurred on Thursday, with Judas numbered among the thirteen guests (Jesus plus his 12 apostles), and that the Crucifixion of Jesus which occurred on a Friday. However, Judas was not actually present for the latter part of the meal.
★ Friday and 13 were both sacred to the Norse goddess Freyja, so Friday 13th was especially sacred. Christians who wished to suppress her worship said the day was unlucky.
★ Friday, October 13th, 1066 was the last day of the reign of the Saxon King Harold II. On this day, William, Duke of Normandy offered Harold the option of ceding the crown; Harold declined the offer. The Battle of Hastings took place the following day (Saturday, October 14th, 1066). Harold was slain and William took control of England.
★ The Knights Templar were arrested on Friday October 13, 1307. The theory that this is the origin of the superstition was widely popularized in the novel ''The Da Vinci Code''.
Effects in people and cultures
:''"It's been estimated that [U.S] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do."''[5]
Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they are simply unable to get out of bed when Friday the 13th arrives. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute estimates that more than 17 million people are affected by a fear of this day.[6] Despite that, representatives for both Delta and Continental Airlines say that their airlines don't suffer from any noticeable drop in travel on those Fridays.[7]
A British Medical Journal study has shown that there is a significant increase in traffic-related accidents on Friday the 13ths.[8]
Occurrence
The following months have a Friday the 13th:
| Or, the other way around, the following years have Fridays the 13th in these months:
|
|
This sequence, here given for 2001–2028, repeats every 28 years from 1901 to 2099. The months with a Friday the 13th are determined by the Dominical letter (G, F, GF, etc.) of the year. Any month that begins on a Sunday will contain a Friday the 13th.
Every year has at least one and at most three Fridays the 13th, with 48 occurrences in 28 years an average of 1.7 times per year. The reason this is this evidence: twenty-eight years have 336 months and 336 also equals seven times forty-eight.
The Gregorian Calendar 400-year cycle contains 146,097 days. Along with the 146,000 normal days, there are ninety-seven February 29s (also called "Leap Year Days"). The easiest way to explain how and why the Gregorian Calendar rotates during any 400-year cycle is that there are 365 days every year. Ninety-seven of the 400 years are leap years, which have 366 days. Years with 365 days have 52 weeks, with one additional day; years with 366 days have 52 weeks, with two additional days. Adding the "additional days" over the 400-year period results in 497 total "additional days". These 497 days total exactly seventy-one weeks. Thus, the total number weeks in the Gregorian Calendar cycle is 20,871.
Because of this, no chosen day of the month up to the 28th can occur the same number of times on each day of the week. The 13th day of the month is slightly more likely to be on a Friday than on any other day of the week.[9] The theoretical chance of a Friday the 13th is once every 212.9 Days, (1/7)
★ (12/365). This is the probability of a Friday
★ the probability of a 13th of the month. The actual occurrence (48 in 28 years) works out at exactly that chance (i.e. once every 212.9 Days).
The distribution of the 13th day of the 4,800 months is as follows:
| Day of the week | Number of occurrences |
|---|---|
| Sunday | 687 |
| Monday | 685 |
| Tuesday | 685 |
| Wednesday | 687 |
| Thursday | 684 |
| 'Friday' | '688' |
| Saturday | 684 |
There are 4,800 months in 400 years, so the 13th of the month occurs 4,800 times in this interval. The number of times the 13th occurs on each weekday is given in the table above. As shown by Brown (1933), the thirteenth of the month is slightly more likely to be on a Friday than on any other day.
On average, there are 1.72 Friday the 13ths per calendar year.
Planned events on Fridays the 13th
Some events were intentionally scheduled for Friday the 13th for dramatic effect. They include:
★ Black Sabbath's self-titled debut album was released in the UK on Friday, February 13, 1970.
★ The release of the 13th book of the Series of Unfortunate Events on Friday, October 13, 2006 by novelist Daniel Handler, also known as Lemony Snicket.
Natural events on Fridays the 13th
Due to the large number of negative events that happen in the world, a similar list could be compiled for any combination of day of the month and day of the week. Friday the 13th is also sometimes known as "Dooms day."
★ January 13, 2006, and October 13, 2006, were not only Fridays, but the digits in the month, day, and year of each date add up to 13. This will next occur on May 13, 2011.
★ Lake Storm "Aphid", an out-of-season snowstorm that wrought havoc on the Buffalo, New York area took place on Friday, October 13, 2006.
★ The asteroid 99942 Apophis will make its close encounter on Friday, April 13, 2029.
Notable births and deaths
| Died on Friday the 13th | Date of Death |
|---|---|
| Gioachino Rossini | November 13, 1868 |
| Arnold Schoenberg | July 13, 1951 |
| Hubert Humphrey | January 13, 1978 |
| Stuart Challender | December 13, 1991 |
| Tupac Shakur | September 13, 1996 |
| Gary Jennings | February 13, 1999 |
| Tony Roper | October 13, 2000 |
References
1. Snopes
2. urban legends: Friday the 13th
3. "Why Friday the 13th is unlucky"
4. Roach, John. "Friday the 13th Phobia Rooted in Ancient History", National Geographic News, August 12, 2004, p. Page 2. Retrieved on October 19, 2006.
5. Donald Dossey, Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina
6. Friday the 13th Phobia Rooted in Ancient History John Roach
7. Some Don't Count on lucky Josh Sens
8. Scanlon TJ, Luben RN, Scanlon FX, Singleton N. ''Is Friday the 13th bad for your health?'' British Medical Journal, 1993; Issue 307:1584–6.
9. Brown, B. H. "Solution to Problem E36." American Mathematical Monthly vol. 40, issue 10, p. 607, 1933.
External links
★ A Wikipedia Reading on Friday the 13th by: Quintin Barry(youtube.com)
★ Friday the 13th Phobia Rooted in Ancient History
★ Why Friday the 13th Is Unlucky (About.com)
★ How Friday the 13th works (HowStuffWorks.com)
★ National Geographic: ''Friday the 13th Phobia Rooted in Ancient History''
★ Friday the 13th and the Templars - About.com article
★ Your Unlucky Day: The religious roots of triskaidekaphobia.
★ Some don't count on Lucky 13 - Via Magazine.
★ Paraskevidekatriaphobia - skepdic.com article on Friday the 13th
★ http://www.infoplease.com/spot/friday13th.html
★ A world of Luck: Friday the 13th - Snopes.com article
★ Triskaidekaphobia on MathWorld
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