Friday the 13th?

The Philippines may be a predominantly Catholic country, but Pinoys have also remained superstitious. Ironically, they put a lot of faith in luck—and the so-called supernatural forces that influence it.

The superstitious crowd may be especially excited—or agitated—this month as the 13th day of May, falls on a Friday. For the record, it's the only Friday the 13th of 2011.

Bad day blues

As our search reveals, there are several theories about the origin of the Friday the 13th fear.

In her TIME magazine article, writer Claire Suddath explained, "The number 13 has been unlucky for centuries. Some historians peg the superstition to the 13 people who attended the Last Supper…but ancient Babylon's Code of Hammurabi omits the number 13 in its list of laws, so the superstition dates back to at least 1700 B.C."

The online search results about Friday the 13th also highlight a tale in Norse mythology. The story has it that when Norse and Germanic tribes converted to Christianity, Frigga was banished and labeled a witch. Thus, every Friday, the spiteful goddess met up with eleven witches, and the devil (That's 13!) and plotted, well, evil deeds.

In any case, it's no surprise that a lot of Pinoys believe in Friday the 13th. Catholics believe that Jesus Christ died on a Friday and, as previously stated, there were 13 people attending the Last Supper. (Then again, that's just one explanation.)

Cautionary scenarios

According to superstition (most of which are listed online), these are some of the bad things that may happen to you if you're not careful on Friday the 13th:

1. If you change your bed on Friday, you'll have bad dreams.
2. If you start a trip on Friday, you'll suffer misfortune.
3. If you cut your fingernails on Friday, you'll be seriously ill.
4. If you break a mirror on a Friday, you'll get seven years of bad luck.
5. If you take a bath on Friday, you'll get sick.
6. If you cut your hair on Friday the 13th, it results in a death in the family.
7. If you pass a funeral procession on Friday the 13th, you'll die the next day.
8. If you leave the calendar on Friday the 13th, you'll be killed by a witch the next day.
9. If you're born on Friday the 13th, bad luck will follow you all your life.
10. If you start a business on Friday the 13th, it's sure to fail.

Notice that a number of these less-than-ideal consequences are related to Friday itself. But since the number 13 is considered unlucky as well—perhaps people thought things would be twice as bad on Friday the 13th.

Blame pop culture

The fear of Friday the 13th has become so popular, there's actually a name for it—friggatriskaidekaphobia. The phenomenon has spread like a virus and made people fear even the number 13 alone. Buildings and skyscrapers often skip the 13th floor, airlines often avoid the number 13 for airplane rows or arrival gates, and important events like weddings are carefully planned to avoid the feared number.

This unexplained phobia fueled the success of the Friday the 13th movie franchise. The scary slasher movie franchise started in 1980 and continues to live on up to this day. It is ranked as one of the top movie franchises of all time. In fact, countless television shows, movies, songs, comic books, and video games have referenced and incorporated Jason, the hockey-masked maniac that made Friday the 13th a pop culture phenomenon.

Having made 12 Friday the 13th movies since 1980, producers of the successful franchise hope to add a 13th installment of the slasher series before 2015.

That being said, the crazy plot of that upcoming flick is probably the only thing we should fear.

Source: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/blogs/the-inbox/afraid-friday-13th-114953274.html