A lot of people probably dreaded to get out of bed today. Those people likely suffer from at least one, maybe two, phobias — paraskevidekatriaphobia and/or triskaidekaphobia. Just like a black cat crossing your path, breaking a mirror or walking under a ladder, a lot of people believe that Friday the 13th brings bad luck.
Superstitions have swirled around the number 13 for centuries. Interestingly, the number 12 is associated with “completeness” — there are 12 days of Christmas, 12 months, 12 zodiac signs, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 rides of Israel, etc.
But the next number, 13, historically has been thought of as a sign of bad luck. Fear of the number 13 is so common, that it has been given a psychological term — triskaidekaphobia.
One story that most people that are apprehensive on Friday the 13th tell is that, according to the Bible, the Last Supper, held on Maundy Thursday, was attended by 13 people (Jesus and his 12 apostles.) The next day was Good Friday, the day of Jesus’ crucifixion. This has led to a longstanding Christian superstition that having 13 guests at a table is a bad omen.
Friday also has negative associations with luck, and many point again to the Bible — Jesus was crucified on a Friday and Friday is said to be the day Eve gave Adam the fateful apple from the Tree of Knowledge and the day Cain killed his brother, Abel.
So if you have a fear of Friday the 13th, you not only have triskaidekaphobia, but also paraskevidekatriaphobia. But no matter, if you’re a believer, non-believer, or genuinely fear the day — today is Friday the Thirteenth, and there’ll be more — every month that begins on a Sunday has a Friday the 13th. Personally, I’m probably not as afraid of Friday the 13th as I am of the people who are afraid of Friday the 13th…..
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