Yes, it's Friday the 13th.
According to Wikipedia (I mean, where else would you look?) the fear of the number 13 has been given a scientific name: "triskaidekaphobia"; and on analogy to this the fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia, from the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή, meaning "Friday"), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς, meaning "thirteen").
Sure.
The superstition surrounding this day (so it says) may have arisen in the Middle Ages, "originating from the story of Jesus' last supper and crucifixion" in which there were 13 individuals present in the Upper Room on the 13th of Nisan Maundy Thursday, the night before his death on Good Friday.
But Friday the 13th is a new thing. Ish. Wiki says: While there is evidence of both Friday and the number 13 being considered unlucky, there is no record of the two items being referred to as especially unlucky in conjunction before the 19th century.
It is possible (just so you know, according to Wiki) that the publication in 1907 of Thomas W. Lawson's popular novel Friday, the Thirteenth contributed to disseminating the superstition. In the novel, an unscrupulous broker takes advantage of the superstition to create a Wall Street panic on a Friday the 13th.
Did you know this? In Spanish-speaking countries, Tuesday the 13th (Martes trece) is considered a day of bad luck. Not Friday.
In Italian popular culture, Friday the 17th (and not the 13th) is considered a day of bad luck. (Has anyone heard of that? My birthday is on a 17th. I was always happy about that.)
According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, an estimated 17 to 21 million people in the United States are affected by a fear of this day, making it the most feared day and date in history. Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business, taking flights or even getting out of bed. "It's been estimated that $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day".Reds, do you take extra precautions?
HALLIE EPHRON: I went into labor on Labor Day, but no, I usually pay no attention to when Friday's gong to fall on the 13th. What would I do? Stay home? That's no good because according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (there is one), more fatal accidents happen at home than anywhere else. Somewhere else it says car accidents kill more. So what does that leave you? Air travel is probably safer.
LUCY BURDETTE: The truth is, I like Friday the 13th. I choose to consider it lucky, same as I consider black cats crossing my path to be lucky. I do not, however, walk under ladders or spill salt without tossing a little over my shoulder!
DEBORAH CROMBIE: I don't usually even notice when it's Friday the 13th. I don't think I'm superstitious about any of the traditional things, although when I was a child I was totally convinced that if I stepped on a crack in the sidewalk it would break my mother's back. Fortunately, my mom lived a good long life with back intact! Where did such a silly saying come from?
HANK: I looked it up! That the cracks on the ground lead directly to the underworld and if you step on one, it lets out demons. That's the post politically acceptable reason, at least.
JENN McKINLAY: I'm with Lucy on the salt and Debs on the cracks in the sidewalk. Weird stuff. Also, I don't open my umbrella inside but that just seems more practical than superstitious. I have no issues with ladders, black cats (I have two) or with Friday the 13th, but I do knock on wood to keep the good luck from turning bad. Ridiculous, I know!
HANK: Well, according to someplace, knocking on wood is a version of the ruckus that pagan Europeans raised to chase away evil spirits from their homes and trees or to prevent them from hearing about, and ruining, a person's good luck. See? Can't hurt.
RHYS BOWEN: I'm not particularly superstitious, and also wouldn't notice Friday 13th unless someone mentioned it. I do mutter "Rabbits" when I wake up on the first of the month, courtesy of my great aunt who was into every superstition known to man: salt, ladders, black cats, if you drop a spoon it's a disappointment, etc etc. And Jenn, I have been known to knock on wood too.
Sometimes I think it's less about believing in fate and more about keeping alive folk traditions in a world that is happy to throw away old ways and words with both hands.
I know that Friday the 13th is unlucky this year, I'm not spending it at Bouchercon!
INGRID THOFT: I’m wracking my brain, but I can’t think of one superstition that I abide by. I walk under ladders, on cracks in the pavement, and don’t worry about breaking mirrors except for the cleanup. I’d never even heard of the heads-up penny, Hank! I had an Italian roommate my first year of college, and my goodness, the superstitions. Salt over the shoulder, cross yourself when you hear an ambulance, don’t touch houseplants during that time of the month. It was a wonder she got any school work done, she was so busy warding off evil spirits. I did recently notice that my high rise doesn’t have a 13th floor, except of course, it does. That one must be universal if even building developers accommodate it!HANK: I always think that's hilarious, Ingrid. Oooh, just don't call it that, and it doesn't exist. Brilliant.
And just so you can be prepared: There will be two Friday the 13ths per year until 2020, where 2021 and 2022 will have just one occurrence. Crossing fingers.
Reds and readers, are you superstitious? Or about anything? (I won't put shoes on the table. But I can never remember if it's no shoes on the table, or no hat on the table. Or no shoes on the BED or no hat on the bed. Safest not to do any other them. And cleaner, too.
How about it, Reds and readers?
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