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Friggatriskaidekaphobia: Superstitions and fears on Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th is upon us and while countless tweens are celebrating the birth of Robert Pattinson, there are some 18 million Americans suffering from Friggatriskaidekaphobia.When we happened across the term, we immediately assumed it was a bunch of random letters pounded out on a keyboard. Alas, we were mistaken. The phrase actually represents a fear of Friday the 13th. "Frigga" is the name of the Norse goddess for whom "Friday" itself is named after, while "Triskaidekaphobia" is a fear of the number 13.
Unlucky 13 has suffered a bad rap throughout history:
- Dating all the way back to the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, the 13th law was omitted in the L.W. King (1910) translation.
- According to some Christian traditions, Judas was 13th to sit at the table during the last supper.
- In Viking lore, it was believed that if 13 people gather, one of them will die the following year.
- Ancient Persians believed that the 12 constellations of the Zodiac each ruled the earth for a thousand years, at the end of which the sky and earth would collapse -- associating the number 13 with chaos.
- In modern culture, many hotels and dormitories lack a 13th floor. Err -- they rename the 13th floor "14" to avoid frightening people.
On the contrary, the Sikhism religion considers 13 to be a lucky number, as does the country of Italy and Hamilton, New York's Colgate University.
Will you be avoiding ladders, black cats and broken mirrors today? We can't think of a more appropriate day to kick back and watch "Friday the 13th."
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Photo/Video credit: New Line Cinema
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Well, considering that today of all days, many TV shows were cancelled and a lot of pilots are dead. It was not a good day.
I think we all should realize that it's springtime for Hitler in Germany and not agonize over friggatriskaidekaphobia. There's other things to worry about
You completely missed the reason for the modern superstition about Friday the 13th being unlucky. It was on a Friday the 13th in the 1300s that the King of France staged a surprise raid and arrested, and executed many of the Knights Templar. Some say this was because he believed they were a cult, some, because he owed them massive amounts of money and couldn't pay up. Either way, it was bad luck for the Templars.
@ JAIP nugent.....
What do you mean by "it's springtime for Hitler in Germany"?
Explain please.
""as does the country of Italy and [the city of] Hamilton, [location of] New York's Colgate University. "" perhaps?