I’m fascinated by superstitions, and it’s funny how pervasive they are, even to those who are not particularly superstitious, who still may “knock on wood” to indicate their hopes of avoiding bad luck. Of course, for a writer, bad luck is good for storytelling, and Travis and Tricia run into a bit of it, in Fly Boy.
What about Friday the 13th? It fits the bill as an uncommon event; each year has at least one, and sometimes up to three. If the month starts on a Sunday, it’ll have a Friday the 13th.
The association of 13 with bad luck dates back to a Norse myth in which a dozen gods were at dinner, but did not invite Loki. He showed up as the 13th guest anyway, and tricked the blind god, Höör, to shoot his brother Baldr with an arrow made of mistletoe. This killed Baldr, who’d been thought to be invincible, and the world grew dark with grief. The Last Supper contributed as well, with thirteen people at dinner, on the 13th day of the month.
The association of Friday as part of the bad luck is much newer. In Greek and Spanish-speaking countries, Tuesday was the unlucky day. In Italy, thirteen was a lucky number, and Friday the 17th was the one to worry about. However, in 1907, a poem titled “Friday, the Thirteenth” was published, about a broker who caused a Wall Street Panic, and that “stuck” in the West.
Superstitious or not, around 20 million people in the US are bothered enough by today that they alter their routines, and estimates are that as much as $900 million is lost by businesses nationwide because of absenteeism or delays. It does make the roads marginally safer, though, because of the people who stay home.
How about you? Would you alter your plans on Friday the 13th, or change your dinner guest count to an even dozen or fourteen?
Happy weekend, everyone!
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