How Did Friday the 13th Become So Unlucky?
Feeling more superstitious than usual today?
Maybe you associate Friday the 13th with the famous slasher movie of the same name and masked killer Jason. Maybe you’ve just been told this is an unlucky day — or there’s something in the air.
Either way, if you’re someone with paraskevidekatriaphobia (a fear of this day), it may help to know where the superstition comes from.
The number 12 is considered to be the “perfect” number by scientists and mathematicians: most calendars have 12-month cycles and days are measured in two 12-hour periods, not to mention cultural symbols like the 12 days of Christmas, 12 tribes of Israel and others. It’s only a given that the next number should end up a little strange.
The number 13 is historically considered unlucky on its own; even the Code of Hammurabi, from ancient Mesopotamia, has no 13th law.
But the origin of Friday the 13th as an unlucky day dates back to early Christianity.
Early Christians found 13 to be suspicious, in part because pagan calendars are structured based on 13 months — and Christians were suppressing paganism as early as 391 AD.
They traditionally distrusted Friday, too. The Roman calendar devoted Fridays to Venus, the goddess of love and sex. And supposedly, some theologians hold that several Old Testament events happened on Friday: including Eve eating the forbidden fruit, the beginning of the Great Flood and Cain killing Abel.
These two superstitions combine in the story of the Last Supper, which was Jesus’ last meal with the disciples before he was crucified. There were 13 dinner guests at the table that night, including Jesus and all the disciples (and, supposedly, Judas was the last of these to arrive, though that’s not stated explicitly in the Bible).
It’s general biblical consensus that the next day, when Jesus was crucified, was Good Friday. Though it led to the resurrection days later, Christians still view this day as one of darkness and injustice — brought on by the betrayal of Judas, which began the night before.
It’s believed that bad things are fated to happen on Friday the 13th as a result. Christian traditions taught that 13 dinner guests is the equivalent of a brush with death.
Plenty of unlucky things have happened on Friday the 13th in the past — including the death of Tupac Shakur in 1996, the murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964, and various plane crashes and disappearances — so much so that many don’t travel or make any business decisions on this day.
The superstition was likely solidified in Christian tradition because of the fall of the Knights of Templar. The group had been founded as a monastic military order to protect pilgrims during the First Crusade. They became wealthy and influential, thanks to donations from European leaders.
King Philip IV of France was interested in taking this wealth for his own. The Knights’ downfall began on a Friday the 13th in October 1307, as over 600 Knights were arrested and charged with crimes they did not commit. It was viewed as the end of a powerful Christian group and a powerful marker of corruption and injustice.
Today marks the second Friday the 13th in 2020. There’s at least one in every calendar year, but there can be up to three. The next time two of these “unlucky” days will fall in the same year is 2023.
Jillian Cheney is a Poynter-Koch fellow for Religion Unplugged who loves consuming good culture and writing about it. She also reports on American Protestantism and Evangelical Christianity. You can find her on Twitter @_jilliancheney.