In the lateth century, a New Yorker named Captain William Fowler sought to remove the enduring stigma surrounding the number 13—and particularly the unwritten rule about not having 13 guests at a dinner table—by founding an exclusive society called the Thirteen Club.
The group dined regularly on the 13th day of the month in room 13 of the Knickerbocker Cottage, a popular watering hole Fowler owned from to Four former U. An important milestone in the history of the Friday the 13th legend in particular not just the number 13 occurred in , with the publication of the novel Friday, the Thirteenth written by Thomas William Lawson.
The book told the story of a New York City stockbroker who plays on superstitions about the date to create chaos on Wall Street, and make a killing on the market. The horror movie Friday the 13th , released in , introduced the world to a hockey mask-wearing killer named Jason, and is perhaps the best-known example of the famous superstition in pop culture history.
The movie spawned multiple sequels, as well as comic books, novellas, video games, related merchandise and countless terrifying Halloween costumes. On Friday, October 13, , officers of King Philip IV of France arrested hundreds of the Knights Templar , a powerful religious and military order formed in the 12th century for the defense of the Holy Land.
Imprisoned on charges of various illegal behaviors but really because the king wanted access to their financial resources , many Templars were later executed. Some cite the link with the Templars as the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition, but like many legends involving the Templars and their history, the truth remains murky.
In more recent times, a number of traumatic events have occurred on Friday the 13th, including the German bombing of Buckingham Palace September ; the murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens, New York March ; a cyclone that killed more than , people in Bangladesh November ; the disappearance of a Chilean Air Force plane in the Andes October ; the death of rapper Tupac Shakur September and the crash of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the coast of Italy, which killed 30 people January But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!
Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Others claim that the ancient Sumerians, who The 13th Amendment to the U. Constitution, ratified in in the aftermath of the Civil War, abolished slavery in the United States.
Researchers estimate that as many as 10 percent of the U. But do they really believe it? Do you think Friday 13th is unlucky? John and Gillie Hemmer say they have "no qualms" about Friday 13th.
Niall Johnstone thinks every Friday is something to celebrate. But where does the myth come from? The double whammy of Friday 13th. Image source, Getty Images. The belief that Fridays were unlucky stems from it being the day of the crucifixion, according to one expert. Where do superstitions come from? A black cat crossing your path can be lucky or unlucky according to superstition.
You might also like:. Why Friday 13th is lucky for me English rainy day phrases explained Why does the school year start in September? And why do they persist? The idea that it is bad luck to put shoes on a table is down to objects being out of place and upsetting the order of the world. Would you take your chances?
Joan Carthy and Paulette Hall say they think Friday 13th is "just another day". An alternative history. Given the mass of doom-laden lore, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Friday 13th is indeed ominous.
If we dig deeper, though, we also find evidence that both Fridays and the number 13 have long been regarded as a harbinger of good fortune.
In pagan times, for instance, Friday was believed to have a unique association with the divine feminine. The first clue can actually be found in the weekday name Friday, which is derived from Old English and means "day of Frigg.
Frigg gave protection to homes and families, maintained social order, and could weave fate as she did the clouds. She also possessed the art of prophecy, and could bestow or remove fertility. On the other hand, Freyja, the goddess of love, fertility and war with whom Frigg was often conflated, was endowed with the power to perform magic, predict the future, and determine who would die in battles, and was said to ride a chariot pulled by two black cats.
These goddesses were worshiped widely across Europe and, because of these associations, Friday was considered a lucky day for marriage by Norse and Teutonic people. The Venus of Laussel clutches a crescent-shaped horn bearing 13 notches -- a potential reference to lunar and menstrual cycles.
The number 13, meanwhile, has long been regarded as a portentous number by pre-Christian and goddess-worshipping cultures for its link to the number of lunar and menstrual cycles that occur in a calendar year.
Fertility was prized in pagan times, and artwork would often draw connections to menstruation, fertility and the phases of the moon. Take the Venus of Laussel, an approximately 25,year-old limestone carving depicting a voluptuous female figure cradling her pregnant stomach with one hand, and holding a crescent-shaped horn bearing 13 notches in the other. Many scholars believe the figurine may have represented a goddess of fertility in a ritual or ceremony, while the 13 lines are typically read as a reference to the lunar or menstrual cycle, both of which symbolize feminine power.
Rewriting a reputation. As Christianity gained momentum in the Middle Ages, however, paganism stood at odds with the new patriarchal faith. Not only did its leaders take objection to the worship of multiple gods and goddesses, but the celebration of Friday, the number 13, and the goddesses who invoked love, sex, fertility, magic and pleasure were deemed unholy. So revered were these deities, though, that making people relinquish them proved a real challenge.
But Christian authorities persisted with their campaign, branding both the deities and the women who worshiped them witches.
0コメント