Friday,13th

Hello,

You need to be careful of Friday, 13th. In most countries, it is Friday, 13th (and not Tuesday, 13th) that brings bad luck. But what are the origins of this terrible day ?

On Friday, 13th, 1307, a group of knights from the Templar Order were hanged and they didn't say where their treasure was hidden. There were 13 steps to the noose. From that day on, bad luck for everyone.

Besides, on Friday, 13th, a computer virus affected a lot of computers in Great Britain, so it is not advisable to use computers on this day.

Bad things associated to Fridays

- Jesus Christ was crucified on Friday.

- Adam and Eve ate the forbidden apple on Friday and they died on Friday.

- In Medieval times, people and criminals were hanged on Fridays.

- It is bad luck to start something on Friday and to have a haircut that day.

Bad things associated to number 13

- Number of people in the Last Supper (12 Apostles and Jesus Christ).

- In tarot, this is associated to death.

- Chapter 13 in the Apocalypse is linked to the Antichrist and the Beast.
- In the past, people bought things by the dozen. Having twelve guests for dinner meant thirteen people and, therefore, one didn't have enough cutlery and crockery for them.

Bad luck bearers

a) Walk under a ladder                    

     b) Black cats and bats

c) Break a mirror                            d) Opening an umbrella indoors

    

e) Hats on the bed                                 f) Shoes on the table

   

Good luck charms
1. Rabbit feet                                                 2. Horseshoes 

         

3.Ladybirds / ladybugs                          4. Four-leaf clovers

     

5. Finding a penny                                  6. Red underpants

              

Words and idioms associated to luck 

- Break a leg (good luck before acting in front of public)

- Knock on wood (people do this when they see a black cat)

- Bad luck comes in threes (when you are unlucky, a lot of things happen to you)

- Beginner's luck (when you are debutant you will have an unexplainable stream of good luck)

- To get up on the wrong foot / on the wrong side of the bed (when you have a bad day, it may be because of this).

- Stepping on a crack will break your mother's back; stepping on a line will break your mother's spine : This is why children play games when they never step on lines or cracks.

- Triskadeikaphobia : This word actually means 'fear to Friday, 13th'.

Did you learn something about Friday, 13th ? Post a comment and tell me how your day went. Did you have any accidents or problems with computers ? What is your favourite good luck charm or bad luck bearer ? Post your comments.