Friday the 13th: Why is this day so scary ?

g src=”https://img-4.linternaute.com/Xp62khhbHFmZ4NM8o_WwdbKBfDo=/540x/smart/7b597aba8c4349e7853cb81217095bdc/ccmcms-linternaute/65116562.jpg” alt=”Friday the 13th: why is this day so scary ?” width=”540″ height=359> “Friday the 13th: why is this day so scary ?”

Will this Friday, September 13, 2024, brighten or darken the calendar?? Does this day symbolize luck, bad luck… or both? Origin, superstitions and demystifications… Linternaute.com untangles the true from the false.

Friday the 13th. Two terms that, when put together, make the mystical imagination work. The calendar reserves two Friday the 13th, in September and December. It is therefore this Friday, September 13, 2024 that it falls for the first time this year, scaring or delighting the superstitious. We have all heard of the superstitions or other wildest fancies linked to this day of the week associated with this number “13”. But what are the origins of this very special day? ? Friday the 13th has its origins in a very ancient era. We must go back in time, to the Bible, to find traces of its beginnings. In the sacred book of Christians, Christ takes the “Last Supper”, his last meal, surrounded by 12 apostles. Thirteen people are therefore seated at the table in total… And Christ will be, according to Christian belief, betrayed by the 13th guest, Judas… before being crucified on a Friday!

So, is Friday the 13th lucky or unlucky?? There is no right answer: today, this day is more of a dark omen than a lucky charm in the collective unconscious, but it is still seen as a positive sign in some cultures. And what if the negative beliefs related to Friday the 13th were simply based on human nature? This is what historian Philippe Martin believes, who analyzes them in Le Progrès: “Superstition provides a reassuring explanation. I am not the object of chance, there is a logic to the world. The driving force behind superstition is not ignorance, but fear.” Origin, multiple superstitions sometimes bordering on phobia, tragic events that took place on Friday the 13th… The secrets of Friday the 13th await you on this special page

As the last Friday the 13th approaches in January 2023, the Lastminute.com website had fun probing the superstitions of Europeans. Result: they were 15% fear this particular day on the Old Continent. That is almost as many as those who feared “breaking a mirror” (21%), “walking under a “ladder” (20%) or “opening an umbrella indoors” (17%). And more than those afraid of the salt shaker, since Europeans are still 15% superstitious about spilling salt. However, the French remain a little less superstitious than the European average, which stands at 55%: 52% of us attach importance to superstitions, compared to 60% for the Spanish or 58% for the Italians…

The origins of this phobia are to be found mainly in the Bible: during the Last Supper, the last meal taken together before the arrest and crucifixion of Christ, Jesus and his apostles are 13. But why Friday ?? It is also the Catholic religion that came to add the number 13, in reference to Good Friday, the day of the Stations of the Cross and penance. At the same time, some legends suggest that Eve bit into the famous apple from the Garden of Eden one Friday…

This superstition, sometimes ridiculed, has its origins in the Bible: according to the set of texts considered sacred by believers, Christ was crucified on Good Friday, after a final meal, the Last Supper, taken at 13 around the table with his apostles… including the traitor Judas. In Greco-Roman and Nordic mythologies, the number 13 was also already frowned upon, but it is indeed the Catholic tradition that has associated the number 13 with Good Friday, the day of penance and the Stations of the Cross. Some legends even suggest in parallel that Eve bit into the apple of the Garden of Eden on a Friday…

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Nothing special happened on Friday the 13th in the past. The association that links the day of Friday, the number 13 and misfortune would draw its source from the Bible. According to the New Testament, during the Last Supper (Christ's last meal), 13 participants sat around the table: Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles. The Gospel of Matthew lists all the people present: “Simon, called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Zealot (or the Canaanite), and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Jesus.” Judas is often presented as the 13th guest, the one who turned everything upside down. Judas the traitor and Friday the 13th are therefore inseparable. The fear of Friday the 13th is also based on the fact that Christ was crucified on a Friday, which would become “Good Friday” during Easter week.

The Last Supper. © Renáta Sedmáková – stock.adob

Loki's punishment. © 19th century engraving

The fear of Friday the 13th would also have its origins in ancient Norse myths. As with the episode of the death of the God Balder. Odin, god of warriors, had one day, according to legend, gathered eleven of his god friends for a dinner, in his home of Valhalla. Loki, god of war and evil, annoyed at not being at the party, decided to invite himself anyway. Only, this thirteenth surprise guest was not welcome. Odin's son, the handsome Balder, god of love and light, tried to chase away the intruder. A battle broke out between the two gods who had always hated each other. Loki, a jealous and malicious god, shot him with a poisoned arrow right in the heart, killing the “beloved” Balder. Since this legend, in Scandinavian countries, the number 13 has been considered cursed and to be 13  table would bring bad luck. 

Freyja in her chariot. ©  Painting by Nils Blommér

Frigga or the demonization of pagan beliefs, is another precursor element of the fear of Friday the 13th. In Norse mythology, Frigga (or Freya) was the queen of the gods, goddess of love and fertility. She was celebrated by her worshipers on Friday. The word “friday”, Vendredi in English, would come from this celebration and would mean “Freya's day” . But in the 10th and 11th centuries, the northern countries were gradually converted to Christianity. It is then said that Frigga is actually a witch and that she has been banished to the top of a mountain. To get revenge, she would invite the devil and 11 witches every Friday to curse men and cast evil spells on them.

Is 13 a destroyer of harmony?? The Greeks and Romans also give This number has a negative connotation in the Greco-Roman mythologies of Friday the 13th. These two mythologies, which have great similarities, both associate the number 12 with regularity and perfection. Thus, there are 12 Olympian gods, 12 constellations, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 hours of the day and night. The number 13, which involves adding a unit to the perfect 12, breaks this regular cycle and introduces disorder. Destroying harmony, it is synonymous with misfortune. As for Friday, it is associated with unfortunate events since it is on this day, in ancient Rome, that the executions of those condemned to death generally take place.