Superstitions on Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th Superstition

Friday the 13th is a day which is supposed to hold a lot of bad luck. This occurs when the 13th day of the month, falls on a Friday, this day occurs whenever the first day of the month is Sunday. There are no known definite origins for Friday the 13th; some could be linked to some events that occurred on a Friday like the crucifixion, Adam and Eve eating the apple, etc. References to it being regarded as bad luck occurred around the mid-17th century. A quote from Western Literature stated, “Now Friday came, you old wives say, Of all the week’s unluckiest day.” (1656) From the 19th century onward, references to Friday the 13th being unlucky occurs many, many times in Western Literature. This major superstition also brings to mind many other “unlucky” things such as black cats, ladders, and broken mirrors.

Black Cats Superstition

In the ancient Egyptian time, cats in general were regarded with great respect and idolatry. They were in some cases buried/mummified in better conditions than human themselves. The superstition of black cats first arose in Eurpoe in the Middle Ages. The cats started to grow and grow in number and soon there were many just living on the streets. They were fed by old homeless women who were soon accused of witchcraft and their companions, the cats, mostly the black ones were accused as well. Many societies attempted to drive black cats out of extinction, because soon superstition turned into paranoia and many innocent women were killed and burned along with their harmless pets.

Walking Under a Ladder Superstition

Many people do not walk under ladders and they do not even know why. A long time ago, when someone committed a murder, they were hung under a ladder. So when you walk under the ladder, their ghost is still there where they fell onto the ground. Another reason why is that triangles were symbols of life in many religions. If you walked under the ladder, you would break the

References: to it being regarded as bad luck occurred around the mid-17th century. A quote from Western Literature stated, “Now Friday came, you old wives say, Of all the week’s unluckiest day.” (1656) From the 19th century onward, references to Friday the 13th being unlucky occurs many, many times in Western Literature. This major superstition also brings to mind many other “unlucky” things such as black cats, ladders, and broken mirrors. Black Cats Superstition In the ancient Egyptian time, cats in general were regarded with great respect and idolatry. They were in some cases buried/mummified in better conditions than human themselves. The superstition of black cats first arose in Eurpoe in the Middle Ages. The cats started to grow and grow in number and soon there were many just living on the streets. They were fed by old homeless women who were soon accused of witchcraft and their companions, the cats, mostly the black ones were accused as well. Many societies attempted to drive black cats out of extinction, because soon superstition turned into paranoia and many innocent women were killed and burned along with their harmless pets. Walking Under a Ladder Superstition Many people do not walk under ladders and they do not even know why. A long time ago, when someone committed a murder, they were hung under a ladder. So when you walk under the ladder, their ghost is still there where they fell onto the ground. Another reason why is that triangles were symbols of life in many religions. If you walked under the ladder, you would break the triangle and cause many problems. There was still a way to avoid getting the bad luck and that was to walk back through from the way you came. This way you could erase what you did and get a second chance.