Friday the 13th and its reputation of bringing bad luck has been linked to one of the most infamous betrayals in history – the crucifixion of Jesus.
The ominous date on the calendar has become tied to all sorts of superstitions which allegedly bring the victim misfortune which can last for years, such as breaking a mirror, walking under a ladder, opening an umbrella indoors, and seeing a black cat cross in front of you.
However, the root of all this bad luck is believed to have started at the Last Supper, attended by Jesus and his 12 disciples almost 2,000 years ago.
It was there that Judas Iscariot, the 13th guest is said to have betrayed Jesus to the chief priests of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious council, who handed Jesus over to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate for trial and crucifixion on a Friday.
Since that time, the number 13 has been associated with negativity and misfortune within the Christian and Catholic faith, often linked to death and betrayal.
This stigma eventually began to focus on Fridays, as Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, leading Christians to observe a period of fasting and penance in memory of that day.
This wasn’t the only major religious betrayal on Friday the 13th, however, as King Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V orchestrated a massive, coordinated betrayal and mass arrest of the Knights Templar, a powerful Christian military order, in 1307.
The leader of that medieval order, Grand Master Jacques de Molay, is said to have cursed both men for their actions on Friday the 13th as he was burned at the stakes. Both the king and pope died within a year, cementing the date’s infamous reputation.
The Bible details the story of the Last Supper around 33 AD when Jesus sat with his 12 apostles and told them that one among their number would betray him, adding that his death was imminent
Grand Master Jacques de Molay (Pictured) led the Knights Templar, a religious military order, and placed a curse on Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V after his betrayal on Friday the 13th, in 1307
Despite centuries of fear and superstition tied to Friday the 13th, historians believe the first published reference of the date being unlucky came in French literature in 1834.
In the French magazine Revue de Paris, an article by the Marquis de Salvo described a Sicilian count who killed his daughter on Friday the 13th, stating ‘It is always Fridays and the number thirteen that bring bad luck!’
The passage is even documented in the Library of Congress as one of the first references to the day and number being tied as a source of bad luck.
That same year two centuries ago, the play Les Finesses des Gribouilles by Claude-Louis-Marie de Rochefort-Luçay and Philippe-François Pinel Dumanoir made a direct mention to Friday the 13th.
A character claims in French: ‘I was born on a Friday, December 13th, 1813, from which come all of my misfortunes!’
However, the ancient ties to Friday the 13th go back even further in time, and even reached the lands of Scandinavia.
In Norse mythology, a popular story often linked to the unluckiness of the number 13 involves a banquet in Valhalla, the afterlife for honored Viking warriors killed in battle.
It was at this party where 12 gods were gathered, and the trickster god Loki arrived uninvited as the 13th guest, leading to chaos.
Friday the 13th has since been linked to superstitions such as breaking mirrors, black cats, and walking under ladders, which are all said to bring bad luck
Loki is said to have tricked the blind god Hodr into shooting an arrow made of mistletoe at Balder, the god of light and joy, causing Balder’s death and plunging the world into darkness and mourning.
The connection to Friday came from the day being named after Frigg, Balder’s mother and the Norse goddess of love and marriage, who was deeply affected by her son’s death.
The suspected origin of these beliefs dates back to oral traditions during the Viking Age, around 793 to 1066AD, but they were first written down in the 13th century in Iceland.
The Norse origins of Friday the 13th even tie into the name created by psychotherapist Donald Dossey in the 1980s, who coined the word Friggatriskaidekaphobia to describe the fear of Friday the 13th.
