Friday 13th

[Claire]

I just wondered if anyone knew when/where the superstitions surrounding Friday 13th originated from? does the explanation in The Da Vinci Code have any basis in fact, with the Templars and all that?
I don't personally hold with superstitions tho ( apart from sensible ones like walking under ladders. risk of accidents); i have faith in God instead.
Opinion please...

[mr_e]

There seem to be a whole shedload of possible explantions, most found with the power of Google (urbanlegends.com link's good). Some cultures even considered 13 a lucky number.

A few superstitions are common sense, such as the ladders one. However, some people wind me up, because psychology probably plays a large part in it, so I think some people cause themselves trouble purely because they're so nervous about it. Self-fulfilling saying and all that jazz.

To be a little bit forward, are you a Christian, Claire, or was that just a figure of speech you used? Personally, I just ignore the date and get on with it.

[Claire]

One is a good Catholic girl, MrE.

[Mike]

Susperstition and faith can sometimes cross over. I don't know if any one will be offended by that but it is not meant to be a critisim! :D Personally I have faith that all will work out okay. Thus far I have not been proved wrong but I hope that fate does not take that as an opportunity to try and prove me wrong.

Personally I like the superstitions about things happening in threes. It would seem unlikely that three bad incidents would be directly related and that the events in question are likely to just be singular!

[Mark Scollon]

I don't know about the Friday bit but I think the number 13 being unlucky comes from the Romans. It's something to do with lining a whole Legion up at the edge of a cliff (or some other suitebly high drop) and then pushing every 13th one over the edge. I can't remember the exact reason for doing it but I think it may have been a punishment to deter any deserters in the group, ie. if any one person deserts, this is what happens to the rest of them.

I'm more than willing to be corrected on that though. I usually end up being wrong more often than I'm right.

[BarcelonAl]

There was something on the radio on Friday morning about the number 13 being classed as 'unstable' by mathematicians. It is because it follows 12, which is a 'perfect' number.

I've just done a little Google and come up with the following bits and pieces:

According to Norse mythology, if you sat 13 people down at a table, that was very unlucky. Why? At a banquet of 12 people in Valhalla, an intruder -number 13 - caused the death of Balder's son Odin.

The number of people at the last supper of Christ and the twelve Apostles, which was pretty unlucky for him.

Witches were believed to meet in covens that had 13 members. The 13th being satan himself.

[Claire]

But why was number 13 chosen? associations with valhalla; Christ and his betrayal; covens of witches. did they chose 13 and it became associated with evil/bad, or did they chose it because it was already bad? Oh, and what the hell's a 'perfect' number?

[mr_e]

I think 13 is just not good. Now, given most of what we are, our entire existences, are based on perception of different frequencies (light, sound, orbit of atoms), and that there are only 12 notes in an octave...I'm beginning to think I could extend some kind of theory from this. At least it would explain why it's intrinsic to most mythology, in a vague, non-scientific way.

[Mike]

. . . what the hell's a 'perfect' number?

Try this link, or this one as a method of explaination.

To find out why they chose thirteen is a really weird one and there is probably an answer in mythology somewhere. I have no idea where though!

PS I was right. The friday the 13th is the day when Philip IV of France ordered his followers to massacre the Knights Templar on 13 October 1307. Gotta love Wikipedia! :D