The Origin of Friday the 13th Obsession

Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day by many people, causing them to limit going out and avoid traveling, shopping, or doing business.

Many people believe that encountering a black cat on Friday the 13th is a sign of bad luck. Photo: Tech Times.

Although the belief that Friday the 13th brings bad luck is somewhat superstitious, many people still have a fear of it, avoiding work, business deals or traveling on this day. In the US, an estimated 17-21 million people fear Friday the 13th, according to a study by the North Carolina Center for Stress Management and Anxiety Disorders, according to International Business Times.

Friggatriskaidekaphobia is a fairly common fear of Friday the 13th. The name comes from Frigga, a goddess in Norse mythology, and triskaidekaphobia, which means fear of the number 13. According to the Gregorian calendar, Friday the 13th always occurs at least once a year and can occur up to three times in any given year.

The origin of the fear surrounding Friday the 13th is unclear. Scientists have found no written records of fear of Friday the 13th before the 19th century, but superstitions surrounding the number 13 date back to the 18th century BC.

In the ancient Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, written in 1772 BC, the number 13 was omitted from the list of laws. Westerners also believe that if 13 people dine together, one of them will die that year. This idea comes from the Last Supper, when Jesus dined with his 12 apostles before his death, and a Norse myth, in which the dinner of the god Odin and his 11 close friends is ruined by a 13th character, Loki, the god of evil and chaos.

In fact, the number 13 has been considered a cursed number around the world for thousands of years and still is today. Many cities do not number 13th streets or 13th avenues. Many skyscrapers do not have a 13th floor, hospitals avoid naming rooms with the number 13, and airports do not have a 13th gate.

Friday is also considered an unlucky day. One theory is that this is because Jesus was crucified on a Friday. In many 17th-century publications, Friday the 13th was considered an unlucky day to start a new project or a major life event such as a wedding or a baby.

Wall Street, the financial district in the US, has developed a fear of Friday the 13th for decades. On October 13, 1989, it witnessed the second largest drop in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Scientists have conducted many studies to study the risk of accidents on Friday the 13th. According to a 2008 study by the Dutch Insurance Data Center (CVS), there are fewer accidents, burglaries or fires on Friday the 13th than on other Fridays.

Between 2006 and 2008, CVS found that there were an average of 7,800 accidental deaths on Fridays, but the average number on Friday the 13th dropped to just over 7,500. Researchers found similar data when looking at the number of fires and robberies between regular Fridays and Friday the 13th.

However, according to a 1993 study in the British Medical Journal, the number of road accidents on Friday the 13th in the UK is significantly higher than on any other day, and the risk of being admitted to hospital for a road accident can increase by up to 52%. The study recommended that Britons stay home on this day.

According to CNBC, Friday the 13th is a flat day for the stock market, with an average gain of only 0.2% or less. The North Carolina Center for Stress and Anxiety also reported that the US economy loses $800-$900 million each year due to consumers staying home or not traveling on Friday the 13th.

According to VNE