Friday the 13th Good Luck or Not?
Are you superstitious about Friday the 13th? Do you plant or not plant? Prune or not prune your plants? Maybe it is time to make special days for gardeners on Friday the 13th. Fairy dances or flowers strewn or....
Many people consider Friday the 13th a lucky day so why do buildings avoid assigning a 13th floor number to the floor above 12? Isn't it kind of silly?
Corsinet offers several connections for your amusement.
FRIDAY THE 13 -
There is a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13 guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Balder died and the Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned.
There is a Biblical reference to the unlucky number 13. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Supper.
A particularly bad Friday the 13 occurred in the middle ages. On a Friday the 13th in 1306, King Philip of France arrested the revered Knights Templar and began torturing them, marking the occasion as a day of evil.
In ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12. The 13 was believed to be the devil.
Both Friday and the number 13 were once closely associated with capital punishment. In British tradition, Friday was the conventional day for public hangings, and there were supposedly 13 steps leading up to the noose.
It is traditionally believed that Eve tempted Adam with the apple on a Friday. Tradition also has it that the Flood in the Bible, the confusion at the Tower of Babel, and the death of Jesus Christ all took place on Friday.
Numerologists consider 12 a "complete" number. There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles of Jesus. In exceeding 12 by 1, 13's association with bad luck has to do with just being a little beyond completeness.
FRIDAY THE 13 - how is fear of the number thirteen demonstrated?
More than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13 floor.
Many airports skip the 13 gate.
Airplanes have no 13 aisle.
Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery.
On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half.
Many cities do not have a 13 Street or a 13 Avenue
In France, socialites known as the quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves available as 14 guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.
Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.
If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck . Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names.
Have we outlived the significance of unlucky 13? How Stuff Works says the Friday the 13th fear is called paraskevidekatriaphobia.
What can be done to reverse the potential negative and turn the day around?
The Farmer's Almanac says to keep your fingers crossed all day. Maybe more practical for gardeners is another of their suggestions - wear your clothes inside out all day. Or how about carry an acorn in your pocket all day? There's an easy one for gardeners.
Many people consider Friday the 13th a lucky day so why do buildings avoid assigning a 13th floor number to the floor above 12? Isn't it kind of silly?
Corsinet offers several connections for your amusement.
FRIDAY THE 13 -
There is a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13 guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Balder died and the Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned.
There is a Biblical reference to the unlucky number 13. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Supper.
A particularly bad Friday the 13 occurred in the middle ages. On a Friday the 13th in 1306, King Philip of France arrested the revered Knights Templar and began torturing them, marking the occasion as a day of evil.
In ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12. The 13 was believed to be the devil.
Both Friday and the number 13 were once closely associated with capital punishment. In British tradition, Friday was the conventional day for public hangings, and there were supposedly 13 steps leading up to the noose.
It is traditionally believed that Eve tempted Adam with the apple on a Friday. Tradition also has it that the Flood in the Bible, the confusion at the Tower of Babel, and the death of Jesus Christ all took place on Friday.
Numerologists consider 12 a "complete" number. There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles of Jesus. In exceeding 12 by 1, 13's association with bad luck has to do with just being a little beyond completeness.
FRIDAY THE 13 - how is fear of the number thirteen demonstrated?
More than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13 floor.
Many airports skip the 13 gate.
Airplanes have no 13 aisle.
Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery.
On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half.
Many cities do not have a 13 Street or a 13 Avenue
In France, socialites known as the quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves available as 14 guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.
Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.
If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck . Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names.
Have we outlived the significance of unlucky 13? How Stuff Works says the Friday the 13th fear is called paraskevidekatriaphobia.
What can be done to reverse the potential negative and turn the day around?
The Farmer's Almanac says to keep your fingers crossed all day. Maybe more practical for gardeners is another of their suggestions - wear your clothes inside out all day. Or how about carry an acorn in your pocket all day? There's an easy one for gardeners.
Comments
Mother Nature to the rescue!
I haven't bought any fall planted bulbs yet. I've resisted so far but I'm doubtful that I'll make it through December without adding to our collection.
Congratulations on completing your writing for the week. I seem to never be at a stopping point.