Local News
Friday the 13th may be all in our heads
Today might be a good day to stay in bed, or at least to stay away from mirrors, avoid stepping on cracks, and being wary of black cats.
Lucky or not, the third and final Friday the 13th of 2009 is today, and although many residents shrug off the notion of a fateful day on the calendar, the day’s history and effect is far-reaching.
Friday the 13th has numerous supposed origins, the simplest of which is that the day is just a combination of an unlucky number and day.
The number 12 in numerology represents completeness — 12 months, 12 hours on the clock, 12 zodiac signs, 12 apostles of Jesus Christ — and a theory states that the number 13 is irregular in comparison.
As for Friday, it has been considered for centuries as a bad day to begin journeys, associated with Black Friday and considered unlucky as the day Jesus Christ was crucified, according to Christian scripture.
“I know a lot of people are superstitious about it,” said Nancy Giraldo, associate professor in the department of education and psychology at the Southwestern Adventist University in Keene. “When you believe something, you are more likely to see what you believe. I don’t know much about Friday the 13th, or about what people believe, but psychologically if I think I’m going to have a bad day in my head, and I have a bad day, I’ve already predisposed myself to that kind of expectation.”
Shannon Ford, who works at the Chaf-In Restaurant, said she has no qualms with Friday the 13th but has a whole ritual if she spots a black cat crossing her path.
“If you see a black cat, you draw an ‘X’ on your window and drive around the block but not backwards. Make the block, and it takes the evil spirits away,” she said with a laugh. “It’s silly, but I’ve done it since I was young.”
Melody Fritts, a diner at the restaurant, said she thinks it’s a lucky day.
Studies by the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics and the British Medical Journal present conflicting data about the rate of accidents and emergencies on the date, even though accidents tend to occur more on Friday’s than weekdays.
It’s also the only date with an associated with the phobia called paraskevidekatriaphobia, coined by Dr. Donald Dossey, a psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of phobias.
According to a study by the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, N.C., the occurrence affects the lives of 17 million to 21 million people in America.
“I never paid attention to it basically,” said Richard McHenry. “But I remember reading somewhere that it used to be a lucky number.”
McHenry has been a priest for 42 years, with, get this, 13 years at Holy Comforter at 209 E. Wardville in Cleburne. He retired in 1991. He continues his ministry at the church in retirement.
“Originally, it was associated with Christ and the 12 apostles and something happened in church history where it was changed. It was a Protestant thing and it reversed the interpretation and before that time it was a good sign.”
Tim Trammell, who works for National Direct Media, said he was born on a Friday the 13th in the month of April, but doesn’t put much faith in the number.
“I feel like I’ve been pretty lucky,” he said.
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