The second Friday in October was the 13th. Many superstitions were raised on Friday the 13ths. Superstitions are beliefs that something bad will happen even if there is no reason to think that.
“I’m not really superstitious about it. It’s just a date to me. It’s fun to joke about but wrong things aren’t set in motion because of the day. What happens happens,” Kaylee Nowak, a senior, said.
According to History, an estimated 10% of the US population has a fear of the number 13 and more have a fear of Friday the 13th. The fear is so well known that it is also known as paraskevidekatriaphobia. The fear runs so deep that people avoid marrying, traveling, and even working which costs a loss of $800 million a year.
Emily Biwer, a senior, said, “It’s a normal day. I’m not really superstitious about it, but it’s fun to watch the movies about it and stuff.”
Some people think the number 12 is a perfect number due to the fact that there are 12 months in a year, two 12 hour half days in a day, etc. People also say because 12 is the “perfect” number, 13 is lacking.
Most Arrowhead students have said that nothing bad has happened to them on any Friday the 13ths so they don’t have a reason to be superstitious. While many people are indeed superstitious, there isn’t any study to show that the day itself is unlucky. Throughout the 2023 and 2024 years, there will only be two Friday the 13ths.
According to National Geographic, it is likely that fear from the number 13 comes from the Christian religion. In the Bible, it is said that Judas, who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest at the last supper. Also in the Bible, a lot of bad things happened on Fridays, making Friday the 13th a bad and unlucky day.
“I think it was a coincidence with Covid but that’s it. I think 13 can be a lucky number because it is Taylor Swift’s lucky number,” Ryann Steinbauer, senior, said referring to Friday, March 13, 2020 when schools shut down due to the global pandemic.
In other countries, the 13th isn’t unlucky, but there are other days that might be frowned upon or that they dread. According to National Geographic, in Spain, Tuesdays the 13th are considered days of dread while in Italy, people fear the 17th day of the month because the roman numeral can be rearranged to say “my life is over.”
