Friday the 13th: Guess whose playing Jason?

When a month begins on a Sunday, the 13th of that month usually is on a Friday. This day is associated with unfortunate events happening to you, or back luck will follow when walking under a ladder, seeing a black car or putting your shoes on the table.

The unluckiest day of the year is now approaching – Friday the 13th.

It is unclear how this date on the calendar became associated with bad luck, although some consider 13 as an unlucky number.

Christians believe that Jesus’ 13 disciples – the 13th one was the backstabbing Judas – were present at the Last Supper, and that Jesus was crucified on the 13th.

Friday has also been linked to several other Christian beliefs. Some historians claim that Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden on a Friday; the confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel was on a Friday, and the great flood of Noah started on a Friday.

On the dark side, a coven of witches has 13 members and the 13th card in the tarot deck is a death card. There are numerous reasons as to why the world associates the number 13 with misfortune.

Superstitions and beliefs:

It is allegedly considered unlucky to sit in the 13th row in the cinema or in a plane.

Others say that spilling salt, cutting your nails during the night, breaking mirrors, opening an umbrella inside the house and believe it or not, giving a clock as a gift, are considered bad luck.

Friday the 13th in movies:

Jason Voorhees, who is the main character in a popular Friday the 13th movie franchise, is ‘resurrected’ after drowning at age 11. In the movies he is considered immortal because it is nearly impossible to kill him.

Freddy Krueger, from Nightmare on Elm Street, who is known as the killer in your dreams, haunts the minds of many during the night, to a point where some put together measures to help them not to fall asleep, just until the day has ended.

Famous rapper, Nicki Minaj, displayed her fear of the notorious characters, Freddy and Jason, on one of her raps with Ludacris – My Chick Bad, rapping “Its going down in the basement, Friday the 13th guess who’s playing Jason, tuck yourself in you better hold on to your teddy, It is a nightmare on Elm Street and guess who’s playing Freddy.”

But where did it come from?

According to an article written by Rose Troup Buchanan and Will Worley for The Independent, the UK’s largest quality digital news brand, with headline Friday the 13th: Where does it come from and why do we still care? one of the most popularised myths attempting to explain the origin of the Friday 13 superstition stems from events on Friday 13 October 1307, when hundreds of Knights Templar were arrested and burnt across France.

“This myth caught the public’s attention after it was used by Dan Brown, among other historical fiction writers, and has been peddled endlessly by conspiracy theorists linking the Knights Templar to everything from Freemasonry to the Holy Grail,” the article said.

* Link to original article: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/weird-news/friday-the-13th-where-does-it-come-from-and-why-do-we-still-care-10044119.html

But for regular folk out there, Friday the 13th is just another day, signalling the start of the weekend – which is often celebrated and not lambasted.