Friday the 13th: why are we still afraid of it (and should we?)

Friday the 13th under the microscope. Superstition, history and psychology without the scares.

Be honest with yourself – when you look at your calendar in the morning and see Friday the 13th, something inside you stirs slightly. Maybe just a little smile. Maybe a little prick of uncertainty. And you're not alone.

This day is a bit of a "perfect storm" of two old fears - Friday and the number thirteen. And together it sounds like a horror script. There's even a technical name for it: paraskevidekatriphobia.

Yes, we have a diagnosis for that too.

Is there really a reason to be afraid? Or is it just our minds playing tricks?

Friday: a day that carried a heavy burden long before the thirteenth.

Today is Friday, a symbol of relief. Weekend. Coffee. Glass of wine. Silence.

In biblical tradition, Good Friday is the day of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And it doesn't end there. According to tradition, it was on Friday that Eve offered Adam an apple from the tree of knowledge. And even the biblical flood was supposed to begin on a Friday.

And the Middle Ages didn't help much.

In many countries, Friday was a common day for public executions. It was even called "Hangman's Day." The day of the executioner. The day when irreversible and definitive things happened.

Even years or months that started on a Friday were considered unlucky. Today we can't imagine judging an entire year by the day of the week. Back then, it was common.

And sailors? For centuries, they refused to set sail on Fridays. They believed that a ship setting sail on a Friday was doomed.

Yes. And this is interesting. And a little ironic.

1️⃣ „Friday Effect“ – Friday as a weaker day

There is a so-called. Friday effect (sometimes part of the broader „day-of-the-week effect“). Some older studies have shown that stock markets tend to perform slightly worse on Fridays than on other days.

Why?

Simply psychology.

Investors close positions before the weekend, take profits, not wanting to hold the risk for more than two days when anything could happen – political crisis, war, bankruptcy, whatever. So they prefer to „clear the table.“.

Not magic. Nerves.

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2️⃣ „Black Friday“ – but different than the shopping one

In the history of the stock market, we have several Fridays that were truly black.

For example:

• September 24, 1869 – US gold market collapse
  13. October 1989 – Market crash after failed takeover of United Airlines

But beware – the biggest crash in history, famous Black Monday, it arrived on Monday, not Friday.

So the stock market chooses tragic days regardless of calendar superstitions.

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Now for the second part.

• 12 months.
• 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night.
• 12 apostles.

And then comes the thirteenth. One step more. As if "extra". As if something didn't fit.

In the Bible, at the Last Supper, thirteen people sat at the table. The thirteenth was Judas – the traitor. Since then, the superstition has survived that if thirteen people sit at the table, one will die within a year.

In Norse mythology, Loki burst in as the 13th guest at a feast – and chaos and the death of the god Baldr ensued.

The symbolism is clear – thirteen disrupts order.

And when you combine "Dark Friday" with "the disturbing thirteenth," you get a combination that is rightfully considered an unlucky day.

On Friday, Adam and Eve bit into the forbidden apple. On Friday, Jesus ended up on the cross.

The combination of the thirteenth and the fifth day of the week has earned its reputation honestly – layer by layer.

To this day, many hotels don't have a 13th floor. Airplanes skip row 13. The fear of the number 13 even has a name: triskaidekaphobia.

And when you combine "Suspicious Friday" with "Uncomfortable Thirteen," you get a potent cultural cocktail.

Moreover, history has given us a specific date.

On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France began a brutal roundup of the Knights Templar. Torture, executions, and the extinction of the order followed.

This is no longer about superstition.. This was a real fall. And human memory remembers such symbolic moments for a very long time.

Today, no one leads us to the gallows. We don't sail into the unknown on wooden boats. And we can have an apple for a snack without existential drama.

Yet it remained somewhere within us.

It's cultural memory. Not logic.

Interestingly, the association of "Friday the 13th" as a universal symbol of bad luck only became widespread at the end of the 19th century.

In 1907, American author Thomas W. Lawson published the novel Friday the Thirteenth, in which a stockbroker exploits a superstition to cause a panic on the stock market.

The Friday the 13th horror series starring Jason Voorhees has only cemented the idea that this day is simply "kind of weird.".

She had grown up with the idea that Friday the 13th was synonymous with bad luck.

Now the most interesting thing.

Psychologists talk about what's called confirmation bias. The brain loves to confirm what it already believes.

When your phone breaks on Tuesday, you think, "Oh well, bad luck."„

What if something breaks on Friday the 13th? "Oh, sure. I knew it."„

We notice the negative events more that day. We overlook the ordinary ones – that we got there safely, that we laughed, that nothing happened.

And suddenly we have proof. But we made that proof ourselves.

Mathematicians have calculated that Friday the 13th occurs at least once a year, and at most three times. And paradoxically, it falls on Fridays slightly less often than on other days of the week.

This year we will enjoy it three times – in February, March and November.

So if it were to be truly "fatal", it would be quite challenging statistically.

And now, between us, over coffee…

Maybe it's not about numbers or history. Maybe it's about women – especially those over 50 – having enough experience to know that life can surprise you at any time. On Tuesday. On Sunday. On the day you get a new dress, and even the first one 😉

And yet…

There's still something about that date. Not fear. More of a symbol. A reminder that we don't have everything under control.

And now a little personal. I consider Friday more of a happy day.

It's the end of the week. Closure. A feeling that something has been completed. Maybe it's age. Maybe it's experience. Maybe it's because I've had enough of "Friday the 13ths" on Monday mornings.

Or, on the contrary, you might say to yourself: "Well, today is the day!"„

Because paradoxically, for many people, Friday the 13th is an opportunity to try your luck. Betting companies report increased interest, special draws, extraordinary lotteries. Some take this day as a challenge: if it's "unlucky", then make it worth it.

• You can be a "superstitious scoundrel.".
• You can be a "betting tempter".
• And you can also be a woman who already knows that a day is just a day.

Symbols only have power if we give it to them.

So, however you experience this Friday the 13th – get through it healthy, with a clear outlook… and with a little smile at how humanity can create its own ghosts.

And in the meantime, I'll have my coffee, because it's Friday. And that's a reason for me to be happy.

Friday the 13th isn't about bad luck. It's about stories that we've passed down for hundreds of years. About symbols that only have power when we give them it.

And you know what?

Maybe it's the perfect day to do something bold.

Sign a contract. Call someone. Hit the road. Or place a bet!

Not because it's Friday the 13th.

But because you no longer let yourself be controlled by old ghosts😘

Witches call it magic; believers call it prayer,