(KFSM) — It’s Friday the 13th, the last one of 2018, a day considered by many to be “unlucky.”
But where did that idea originate?
According to History.com, the Friday the 13th fear may have come from the superstitions surrounding the number 13 in general. While 12 has been associated with completeness (12 months of the year, 12 signs of the zodiac, etc.), 13 has been considered bad luck, possibly dating back to ancient times.
It’s believed the fear of 13 (called triskaidekaphobia) was spawned from biblical origins, with 13 guests attending the Last Supper the day before Good Friday, when Jesus was crucified.
The number later spawned an 1800s secret society called The Thirteen Club, which dined on the 13th of the month on a 13-course meal, and was joined by four U.S. presidents (Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison and Theodore Roosevelt).
The number paired with the day hit pop culture in 1907 with the publication of the novel Friday, the Thirteenth by Thomas William Lawson. The “horror” of the day exploded in 1980 with the birth of the Friday the 13th film franchise, which introduced a hockey-masked serial killer named Jason, a string of horrific crimes, and a lot of victims with, well, a whole lot of bad luck.
So what do you think? Is Friday the 13th lucky or unlucky…or just another Friday?