There are two main theories as to the origins of why the number 13, combined with being Friday is so unlucky. The first theory comes from the Bible believe it or not. Judas, who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to sit down at the Last Supper. Even today, some people do not like having 13 people sitting at the table, so they sit whatever they can down in a seat to make the count 14 people, even if its a doll or a teddy bear! The second theory comes from Norse mythology. The gods were having a dinner party which was ruined by the 13th guest, who caused the world to go into darkness.
© GettyImagesUnlucky number 13 is something taken so seriously that some hotels do not have a room 13, or lots of buildings do not have a 13th floor, or even airlines that skip row 13 and go straight from 12 to 14.
Are all Fridays unlucky? While for hundreds of years Friday has been considered the unluckiest day of the week, there is one Friday a year which is thought to be very lucky: and that is Good Friday. The day of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, is thought to be the only Friday that isn’t unlucky, thus its positive name. Sailors, who tend to be superstitious, choose to start a long trip on Good Friday.
© GettyImagesMany traumatic events have occurred on Friday the 13th... here’s a list of a few of the most recent ones...
- German bombing of Buckingham Palace in 1940
- The murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens in New York in 1964
- A cyclone that killed more than 300,000 people in Bangladesh in 1970
- The disappearance of a Chilean Air Force plane in the Andes in 1972
- The death of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996
- The crash of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the coast of Italy, which killed 30 people in 2012
In 2015, there were three Friday the 13ths, and the next time this will happen will be in 2026. 2020 has had two Friday the 13ths. One in March and the other one now in November.
