We were supposed to take a long trip tomorrow, and we have been planning this for a week now. However, the party of seven has been reduced to 2, and so we decided to move the trip to Monday next week instead.Then it occured to me that tomorrow is Friday the 13th! The horror! Not that I have paraskevidekatriaphobia (or the fear of Friday the 13th; I wonder why they don't have this word in Spelling Bees?), but why tease bad luck? It doesn't hurt to be extra careful. So no crossing under the stairs tomorrow, no breaking of mirrors, no crossing the path of black cats, no joining a dinner table that would constitute 13.
I learned some interesting things about why Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day. For one, there's the thing about Judas being the 13th to arrive at the Last Supper to deliver that fateful kiss, and that a coven of witches is normally 12 in number, but Frigga, a Norse goddess, would normally join them, making the total 13.
It doesn't help either to learn that in old British Tradition, Friday was the favorite day for public hangings, and that the number of steps leading to the noose is 13.
I got these details (and other equally interesting tid bits, along with the photo adorning this post) from How Stuff Works. Visit this site for some Friday the 13th trivia fun.
Now, is it ok for me to take a leave tomorrow and put in the reason as paraskevidekatriaphobia?
wow! interesting infos about 13! but i personally don't believe in Friday the 13th's badluck.
ReplyDeleteHow Stuff Works is perhaps one of the greatest website I have ever read. I read it for years and then things just repeated and I haven't read it for maybe two years. Maybe it's time to return.
ReplyDeletei dont want to believe it but i prefer to be careful instead... which is always helpful.. [prevention is better that cure anyways, right]... :)
ReplyDeleteLintek, kaya pala hindi ko alam ang tawag sa phobia with Friday the 13th, hindi lang ang hirap i-spell, hirap pa ring bigkasin. Kung sumasali ko sa spelling bee, yan ang example ko ng "fear of a word"
ReplyDeleteI remember it was Fiday the 13th when I had my very first car accident and it was as bad as this one. But actually this one I wasn't driving hehehe..
ReplyDeletebut I didn't believe in that before but since my accident I am much careful :P
Hello Amie! Here I am, at work. It also fun to know these things (para di ka malito in case people around are superstitious and they suddenly throw salt behind them) :-)
ReplyDeleteMr. Abbey! I discovered How Stuff Works only very recently. I also found Wikipedia a nice site to learn about many things.
Hello San! You are right about that! An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure :-)
Tito Rolly! Nung ginagawa ko nga ang post kong ito eh, nung ine-edit ko na, bigkas ko sa word na to, "paraskevi-whatever". Di rin makaya ng utak ko i-process yung buong word. hahaha!
Hello cerridwen! So sorry to hear about your not-so-good experience with this notorious day. It's not so bad luck because you emerged safe and sound :-)
ok lang sakin ang friday the 13 kasi alam ko kinabukasan...sweldo na!
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