Tomorrow is Friday the 13th. It is a date known in the Western world for being unlucky - and in modern times as a day spooky things happen. There have been made countless of scary movies related to the day, and some people are superstitious enough that some hotels don't have a room number 13 or a 13th floor, going straight from 12 to 14. It is even cheaper to travel by plane on Friday the 13th!
There are between 1 to 3 Friday the 13th every year. But, why is it regarded as unlucky?
Last Supper
The number 13 has been considered unlucky for a long time. A lot of people believes this originates from The Last Supper - however, this connection might not have occurred before the Middle Ages.
The Last Supper was the last meal Jesus had with his 12 disciples before he was betrayed and killed. It is believed that Judas, who was the one who betrayed him, was the last to sit down at the table - however, this is not written specifically in the Bible. This most likely indicates that 13 only became an unlucky number afterwards.
The belief that it is unlucky to have 13 people sitting at a dinner is unlucky most likely stems from the Last Supper as well. The belief goes that if there are 13 people at a table, then the first to stand up will also be the first to die. In the case of the Last Supper, Jesus was the first to rise.
Fridays
Fridays generally used to be considered unlucky. A lot of "bad" biblical events took place on Fridays: for example, Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden on a Friday, and Jesus was crucified on a Friday.
In medieval times, Fridays were known as "Hangman's Day" in the UK, as that was the day people condemned to death would be executed.
Templar Knights
It is often believed that the reason Friday the 13th became known as an especially unlucky day is related to the Templar Knights. The Templar Knights was an order of warrior monks in medieval times, and on October 13th, 1307, the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and the King of France sentenced them all to death. Many of them were tortured and burnt at the stake.
However, Friday the 13th wasn't considered especially unlucky at the time. That connection happened a lot later. This idea was actually mainly promoted and made mainstream by the book The Da Vinci Code (though the connection between Friday and 13 is believed to have existed before that).
Other
Some people are even afraid enough of Friday 13th for there to exist a phobia for it, called paraskevidekatriaphobia. It literally means "Friday Thirteen Fear". It is also sometimes called friggatriskaidekaphobia, the only difference being whether the "Friday" part stems from Ancient Greek or Old Norse. If you are only afraid of the number 13, there is also a phobia for you: Triskaidekaphobia.
However, it isn't everywhere that Friday the 13th is the unlucky day: In Spanish-speaking countries, it is Tuesday the 13th, while in Italy, it is Friday the 17th.
There has been made a lot of studies to try and figure out if there are more accidents or crime happening on Friday the 13th compared to "regular" Fridays. While tragic things do occur on Friday the 13th, those events are often given more notice than they otherwise would get had they occurred on any other date. Many studies have disproved any correlation between Friday the 13th and the rate of accidents. One Dutch study actually found that there were fewer accidents and thefts happening on Friday the 13th, as people were more likely to stay home and be careful. It is also slightly safer to drive on Friday the 13th in the Netherlands: on average there were found 300 fewer traffic accidents on Friday the 13ths compared to normal Fridays!
So in conclusion, it seems like there is no need to worry for tomorrow, except perhaps for a few scary movies!
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