Friday the 13 th is a date that scares people so much that some people are even afraid to step out of their beds, there is a phobia surrounding the date. This date according to western believes is very dangerous and has a lot of negative connotations. So much so that lifts, apartments generally avoid having the number 13 in their list.
The origin of the fear towards Friday the 13th stems from the fact that Jesus Christ was crucified on a Friday and Judas Iscariot was the 13th guest at the Last Supper.
Later, King Philip IV of France commanding hundreds of Templar Knights was arrested on the date in 1307, and then be tortured and burned alive. In the Babylonian civilization also number 13 is considered to be unlucky. In the Code of Hammurabi and in the the Song of Ishtar, the codes from 12 to 14 have been omitted and the thirteenth line contains the name of the Goddess of the Dead.
It is believed that the day brings in more negative energy. More accidents and evil forces are active on the date. The fear of Friday the 13th is known as ‘paraskevidekatriaphobia’ or ‘friggatriskaidekaphobia’.
Seven major incidents that took place on this date/day:
- March 13, 2020: First official day of the declaration of the pandemic in USA.
- The Costa Concordia and Italian cruise ship capsized killing as many as 39 people on January 13, 2012.
- Rapper Tupac Shakur was shot dead in Las Vegas on September 13, 1996 which was a Friday the 13 th.
- The then Pope was shot at four times on May 13, 1981.
- Two planes crashed into each other on October 13, 1972.
- Buckingham Palace bombing by Nazi Germany on September 13, 1940.
- It is believed that every Friday the 13th leads to a loss of millions of dollars in the share markets especially in the western nations.
However, in India the date does not have much negative value. In Hinduism Friday is considered to be the day of Goddess Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) and hence people generally fast and consider the day to be highly auspicious. The 13 day of each month is generally of high religious significance, as people fast and worship deities like Lord Shiva and Parvati.