For a long time, certain days or times of the year have been understood to be imbued with some kind of misfortune or bad luck. Currently, the meeting between the 13th and Friday is full of legends and beliefs that leave the most superstitious with their hair standing on end. As if that wasn't enough, North American cinema tried to immortalize this date with a sequence of horror films starring Jason Voorhees, a serial killer that attacks on the same date.
However, few know what is the true origin of "Friday 13”. In fact, the possibilities of explanation for this belief are widespread in different cultures around the world. One of the best known justifications for this curse is that Jesus Christ was persecuted for this date. Before being crucified on a Friday, the savior of the Christian religions celebrated a supper that, in all, had thirteen participants.
Another explanation for this date goes back to the consolidation of monarchic power in France, specifically when King Philip IV felt threatened by the power and influence exercised by the Church within his parents. To get around the situation, he tried to join the prestigious religious order of the Knights Templar, which, in turn, refused the monarch's entry into the corporation. Enraged, he is reported to have ordered the persecution of the Templars on Friday, October 13, 1307.
See too: 8 Superstitions for Friday the 13th
According to another story, the curse of Friday the 13th has to do with the process of Christianization of the barbarian peoples who invaded Europe in the early medieval period. Before converting to the Christian faith, Scandinavians were polytheistic and held in great esteem for Friga, the goddess of love and beauty. With the process of conversion, they began to curse her like a witch who, every Friday, met with eleven witches and the devil to cast plagues against humanity.
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Reinforcing this same belief, another story of Norse origin tells of a great banquet where the god Odin held a meeting of twelve other important deities. Offended at not being invited to the event, Loki, the god of discord and fire, attended the meeting and caused a huge mess that resulted in the death of Balder, one of the most beautiful deities known. With that, the myth was created that a meeting with thirteen people always ends badly.
Despite so many misfortunes associated with this date, many interpret it with a meaning completely opposite to what has been explained here. According to the principles of numerology, thirteen – through the sum of its digits – is a numeral close to four, understood as a strong indication of good luck. Furthermore, Indians, Americans and Mexicans associate the number thirteen with happiness and a prosperous future.
By Rainer Sousa
Master in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUSA, Rainer Gonçalves. "Friday 13"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/curiosidades/sextafeira-13.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
