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Friday the 13th of September 2013 ~ Ghost Tours
Wishing you a LUCKY day!
Go pet a black cat...
Friday the 13th is considered by many to be an unlucky day in much of Western Europe,
North America, and Australia. And while the superstition is believed to be fading, it
nonetheless has deep roots in both Christian and pagan culture.
Friday the 13th in Religion:
• Many Christians have long believed that Friday was unlucky
because
it was the day of the week when Jesus was crucified.
• The number 13 was believed to bring bad luck because there were
13
people at The Last Supper. There is a Biblical reference to the
unlucky
number 13. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the
13th guest to
the Last Supper.
• Since there were 12 tribes of Israel, that number was considered lucky.
• Tradition also has it that the great Flood in the Bible happened on Friday.
• The confusion at the Tower of Babel took place on Friday.
• It is traditionally believed that Eve tempted Adam with the apple on a Friday.
Roots in Norse Mythology
Thirteen was also a sinister number in Norse mythology. Loki, one of the most evil of the
Norse gods, went uninvited to a party for 12 gods at Valhalla, a banquet hall of the gods. As
a result, he caused the death of Balder the Beautiful, the god of light, joy, gladness and
reconciliation. Loki tricked Balder's blind brother, Hod, into throwing a sprig of mistletoe at
Balder's chest. Since mistletoe was the only thing on Earth fatal to Balder, the beloved god
fell dead and the Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned.
Please, only kill with kindness...
Literature and Folk Wisdom
• During the Middle Ages, the superstition against Friday the 13th grew. On Friday,
October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrests of Jaques de Molay,
Grand Master of the Knights Templars and sixty of his senior knights in Paris. Thousands
of others were arrested elsewhere in the country. After employing torture techniques to
compel the Templars to "confess" to wrongdoing, most were eventually executed and
sympathizers of the Templars condemned Friday the 13th as an evil day.
• In ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12. The 13th was believed to
be the devil.
• Both Friday and the number 13 were once closely associated with capital punishment. In
British tradition, Friday was the conventional day for public hangings, and there were
supposedly 13 steps leading up to the noose.
• Over time a large body of literature and folk wisdom has reinforced the belief.
• In the 18th century, the HMS Friday was launched on Friday the 13th. It was never heard
from again. Since then, ships are not usually launched on that date.
FRIDAY THE 13TH
How did Friday the thirteenth become such an unlucky
day? Fear of Friday the 13th is rooted in ancient,
separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and
the day Friday. The two unlucky entities combine to
make one super unlucky day.
Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number "13"
Triskaidekaphobia (from Greek tris meaning "3", kai meaning "and", deka meaning "10"
and phobos meaning "fear" or "morbid fear") is fear of the number 13 and avoidance to use
it; it is a superstition and related to a specific fear of Friday the 13th,
called Paraskevidekatriaphobia (from
Παρασκευή Paraskevi,
Greek
for
Friday)
or friggatriskaidekaphobia (after Frigg, the Norse goddess Friday is named after in English).
Numerologists consider 12 a "complete" number. There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of
the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles of
Jesus. In exceeding 12 by 1, 13's association with bad luck has to do with just being a little
beyond completeness.
FRIDAY THE 13TH
How is fear of the number thirteen demonstrated?
• More than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13th
floor. Floors in tall buildings often skip from 12 to 14
• Many airports skip the 13th gate. Airplanes have no
13th aisle.
• Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th
Avenue
• Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number
13.
• Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery.
• On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between
number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half. 12a is
sometimes used as a substitute.
• If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck. Jack the Ripper,
Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13
letters in their names.
• In France, socialites known as the quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves
available as 14th guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.
• The ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.
• A bed changed on Friday will bring bad dreams.
• Any ship that sails on Friday will have bad luck.
• You should never start a trip on Friday or you will meet misfortune.
• Never start to make a garment on Friday unless you can finish it the same day.
• If 13 people sit down at a table to eat, one of them will die before the year is over.
• Funerals on Friday portend another death in the family during the year.
• Many people avoid travel and avoid signing contracts on Friday the 13th
• Vehicle registration plates in the Republic of Ireland are such that the first two digits
represent the year of registration of the vehicle (i.e., 11 is a 2011 registered car, 12 is
2012, and so on). In 2012 there were concerns among members of the Society of the Irish
Motor Industry (SIMI) that the prospect of having "13" registered vehicles might
discourage motorists from buying new cars due to superstition surrounding the number
thirteen, and that car sales and the motor industry (which was already ailing) would suffer
as a result. The government, in consultation with SIMI, introduced a system whereby
2013 registered vehicles would have their registration plates age identifier string
modified to read "131" for vehicles registered in the first six months of 2013 and "132"
for those registered in the latter six months of the year
GHOST TOUR of Old Town Albuquerque
Friday the 13th Tours held at 8pm & 10pm
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED!
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Call: (505) 246-TOUR (8687)
Email: [email protected]
Visit: http://toursofoldtown.com/
Buy Tickets: http://toursofoldtown.com/BuyTickets.php
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$20.00 Adults
$18.00 Seniors (55 & up)
$18.00 Military (with ID)
$18.00 College (with ID)
$16.00 Students (ages 13-17)
$10.00 Youth (ages 6-12)
(505) 246-TOUR (8687)
www.ToursOfOldTown.com