folklore behind friday 13 being unlucky

Subject: RE: folklore behind friday 13 being unlucky
From: Reinhard
Date: 13 May 11 - 03:28 PM

The 13th day of the month is slightly more likely to be a Friday than any other day of the week. You can count this for yourself over a 400-year cycle of the Gregorian calendar (I had to do this in a Fortran programming course in university long time ago) or be lazy and look up the numbers at Wikipedia.

Subject: RE: folklore behind friday 13 being unlucky
From: Bill D
Date: 13 May 11 - 12:58 PM

The last 4-5 days were lovely, sunny days... today it started raining! What more evidence do you need? ☺

Subject: RE: folklore behind friday 13 being unlucky
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 13 May 11 - 12:29 PM

Indeed, open mike ~~ Wiki article I mentioned above links also to that one, which has its own entry.

Suggestions above, re Knights Templar, James Fraser, &c, are all offered as alternative explntns in the Wiki articles.

~M~

Subject: RE: folklore behind friday 13 being unlucky
From: open mike
Date: 13 May 11 - 12:26 PM

tTriskaidekaphobia
Triskadekaphobia is the un-natural fear of the number 13

Subject: RE: folklore behind friday 13 being unlucky
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 13 May 11 - 12:21 PM

Remember 1st line of most versions of Child 289 The Mermaid ~~ "'Twas a Friday morn when we set sail..."

Subject: RE: folklore behind friday 13 being unlucky
From: mayomick
Date: 13 May 11 - 12:16 PM

I seem to remember James Frazer saying in the Golden Bough that after the year of his reign was up, a king was sacrificed at the start of the thirteenth month.
Friday was the day that Christ was crucified/sacrificed

Subject: RE: folklore behind friday 13 being unlucky
From: Midchuck
Date: 13 May 11 - 12:15 PM

I believe it was Oct. 13, 1307, IIRC.

Phillip of France decided the Knights Templar had a lot of money and he needed it. So he raided all their chapters, took them into custody, tortured them to find out where the money was hid. Never got much, but it pretty much destroyed the Knights Templar.

I think that's it.

Peter

Subject: RE: folklore behind friday 13 being unlucky
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 13 May 11 - 12:14 PM

13 long regarded as unlucky # [see section 2.5 of Wiki entry on "Number 13" for some proposed explanations].

Friday unlucky becoz day of Crucifixion ~~ hence Good Friday, &c.

Combo of both together ∴ = double bad luck to the superstitious.

{I was born on Thursday 12 May 1932 - was 79 yesterday - so narrowly missed Fri 13!}

~Michael~

Subject: folklore behind friday 13 being unlucky
From: The Sandman
Date: 13 May 11 - 12:04 PM

anyone know the reason for this myth.