2012 may be considered by some to be an unlucky year because of the possible impending apocalypse, but there is an entirely different source of bad luck ahead.
The infamous date of Friday the 13th occurs three times this year, as opposed to the usual two, and that’s not the strangest part. Each of these dates, January 13, April 13, and July 13, are 13 weeks apart. This hasn’t occurred since 1984.
“It’s a bad year for people who suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia — the fear of Friday the 13th,” said journalist Wade Malcolm in an article in USA Today.
But what makes Friday the 13th so unlucky?
To start, the number 13 has had a bad reputation for thousands of years. One reason might be that there are 13 witches in a coven. Another is that in Norse mythology, there were 12 gods invited to a banquet. Loki, the god of chaos, was uninvited but crashed the party, becoming the thirteenth guest and killing Balder the Good, a favorite among the gods.
The most famous example is what many believe to have been the start of the number 13’s bad luck. In Christianity, there were 13 people at the Last Supper, and Judas, the betrayer of Jesus, sat at the thirteenth place. Also, Jesus was crucified on a Friday- hence the negative combination of 13 and Friday.
The Last Supper and the Norse banquet of the gods both seem to have caused the superstition that if 13 people dine together, one will die within that year.
The associations of the number 13 and Friday the 13th with bad luck have continued throughout history. The Christian Knights of Templar were executed on Friday, October 13 in 1307. Infamous dictator Fidel Castro was born on Friday the 13th, and Tupac Shakur died on September 13, 1996- also a Friday.
Negative associations with the number 13 abound: The number of steps leading up to the gallows in executions was commonly 13. The only unsuccessful NASA mission to the moon was Apollo 13; the astronauts involved barely made it out with their lives. Superstition about the number is so strong that hotels do not have a 13th floor; they typically go from 12 to 14.
Ironically however, some cultures actually consider the number 13 to be lucky. Pagans favor it because there are 13 cycles of the moon. In Judaism, God is stated to have 13 Attributes of Mercy, and 13 is the age at which a boy celebrates a Bar Mitzvah. And of course, our own country started with 13 original colonies.
Many gamblers and bettors think Friday the 13th is a lucky day to cash in, and casinos are often packed on this date.
“Traditional religious beliefs aside, more of us now probably consider Friday the 13th as having as much or more potential good luck as bad luck,” said Al Neuharth in a column in USA Today.
Although strong feelings about Friday the 13th and the number 13, both good and bad, are very common, like many superstitions the luck is often only in your head.
“It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Ivo Dominiguez Jr., owner of an occult-themed book store in Delaware. “There’s a strong power in people convincing themselves something unlucky will happen.”
Whether you believe that this day is a source of good or bad luck, or even if you don’t believe it holds any luck at all, you will have to face three Friday the 13th’s this year.