Cue those Friday the 13th memes…

Despite popular belief that fear of the date Friday the 13th stems from early Christian events, there is no record of such superstition until the 20th Century.

It were latter-day scribes who suddenly decided – in the early 1900s – that both Friday and the number 13 are connected with the crucifixion of Christ – Friday being the day the crucifixion took place (commemorated weekly throughout Lent in Catholic practice) and 13 being the number of people present at the Last Supper.

Ironically, in Italy – where Catholicism runs rife – 13 isn’t even unlucky. Indeed, 13 is considered quite a fortunate number in Italy, and it is Friday the 17th that is noted as a day of bad luck. The origin of this belief could be traced in the presentation of the number 17 in Roman numerals: XVII. By shuffling the digits you get the Latin word VIXI (I lived; now I’m dead) – hence it evolving into an omen of bad luck.

Still, Friday the 13th is treated suspiciously in most western nations, especially English-speaking ones.

In Spanish-speaking countries, instead of Friday, it is Tuesday the 13th (martes trece) that is considered a day of bad luck, while the Greeks also consider Tuesday (especially the 13th) an unlucky day.

In Australia – which often follows American tradition when it comes to spooky antics – we deliver a lot of talk of Friday the 13th being an unlucky day, but, when it comes to the crunch, we don’t get caught up in the paranoia of it all. Still, we do love a good horror meme…  Antonino Tati