Friday the 13th and Other Superstitions

Naturally, this article was originally written over on Triond by me on Friday the 13th given some of the references to today being Friday the 13th. Of course there is always a chance someone could read this article on a future Friday the 13th.

Happy Friday the 13th. Now for many of us this is either another day or a series of horror movies. However, there are many people who are a superstitious lot. The number thirteen has always been commonly associated with bad luck and misfortune. The 13th happening on Friday seems to be more so. It has people being extra jumpy about a day. Its one of those things where people tend enact a self fulfilling prophecy. If they believe they are going to have bad luck because of a day, then they will in fact have bad luck. I personally think luck is a falsehood to begin with but many people believe in it so whatever.

Now Friday the 13th is just one of the many superstitions out there. There are five others that you may have heard of.

Step on a Crack, You Break Your Mother's Back:

I actually heard this one when I was about four or five, so I decided to test that theory, by jumping repeatedly on a crack about seven or eight times. My mother's back remained fine, so I dismissed this one as absolute bunk. Still its one that some people seem to believe.

Spilling Salt is Bad Luck:

Well I've spilled plenty of salt in my day, and funnily enough, nothing too bad as happened to me. Or at least nothing abnormally bad. Still once again this one exists as a superstition.

Don't Walk Underneath Ladders:

I guess this one has a merit of truth, for one simple reason. You walk under the ladder, there's a chance you could knock it over if you're not careful, right on the top of your head. So perhaps its good not to walk underneath ladders, albeit for different reasons then I'm sure most people would think.

Don't Let a Black Cat Cross Your Path:

I'm sure this one has some kind of religious significance, due to the fact that black cats were considered to be familiars to witches and witchcraft was bad. All black cats were cursed as well. At least that's how this one could be interpreted. Your mileage may vary.

Breaking a Mirror Leads to Seven Years Bad Luck:

And the bad luck would in theory start when the busted glass slices into your skin, forcing you to go to the hospital and pay an extremely pricey bill. So this one does have some basis outside of being paranoid. Oddly enough, the number seven has been called lucky in the past and that's the number of years of bad luck. Just one of those things that you really should not think about too much.

Those are some of the superstitions out there. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to walk under a ladder, stepping on cracks, while spilling salt and busting mirrors, while black cats cross my path on Friday the 13th. Everyone have a happy, unlucky day.