HERE’S hoping we all avoid any mishaps tomorrow.
Anyone of a superstitious nature might want to stay indoors the whole day.
If you need to, check your diary, calendar, phone or laptop and you’ll see why.
It’s because tomorrow is Friday the 13th, which is considered unlucky across much of the western world.
Ever wondered why?
Well, 13 supposedly brings misfortune as that’s the number of men at The Last Supper, when Jesus predicted Judas would betray him. (Some information you’ll probably never use - fear of the baker’s dozen is called triskaidekaphobia).
And the Good version of Friday is when we mark Christ’s Crucifixion.
Clearly we’re not doomed if we put the two together, but some people take measures to counter the imagined F13 curse.
A few madcap ideas for frightening off bad luck include finding a four-leaf clover, which is unlikely; wearing your clothes inside out, which you might do in a rush if your alarm fails to go off and you’re late getting up for work; or avoiding cracks in the pavement, which is harder than it sounds given the decaying state of our roads and footpaths.
Depending on when you read this, maybe there’s still time to scarper off to Spain or Greece. People there fear suffering bad luck on Tuesday 13 instead of Friday 13.
But the most sensible suggestion is simply to carry on as if it’s just another day.
While statistics apparently have shown an unexplained minuscule rise in road traffic accidents on Friday 13, as far as I’m aware there’s nothing to suggest more misfortunes happen that day - although maybe we tend to notice them more.
If you’re afraid of Friday 13, then you suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia - good luck pronouncing that.
Here’s a few of the hundreds of superstitions said to bring bad luck.
Be careful not to break a mirror as that attracts seven miserable years.
If you’re silly enough to open an umbrella indoors or put your shoes on the table, that could cause you problems.
If you hang a horseshoe upside down, the luck will fall out.
And don’t say ‘Macbeth’ or wish someone ‘good luck’ in the theatre - instead substitute them with ‘The Scottish Play’ or ‘break a leg’.
One last thought - who thinks up these absurd things?
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