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Urban Legends

Now Friday came, you old wives say, Of all the week's the unluckiest day." (1656)

Although this superstition has survived centuries in Western civilisation, it's quite diminished in the modern era. People tend to make jokes about Friday the 13th (I'll call it F13), advise loved ones to take extra care, or just brush it off. Personally I'll just brush the superstition off, but retain the careful bit of it. Just for my sake :)

However, there are certain people who suffer from paraskavedekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th). It's hard to understand but generally on that day, symptoms range from slight anxiety to full blown panic attacks.

Tracing Friday the 13th back to it's roots
An ancient Norse mythology tells about 12 gods having their dinner party at their heaven, Valhalla. A 13th uninvited guest walked in who happened to be Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Balder died, and the whole Earth got dark and mourned.
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Biblical reference shows the Last Supper, at which Judas Iscariot the apostle was said to have been the 13th guest to sit at the table. (Judas later betrayed Jesus, leading to His crucifixion, and then took his own life.) This Christian symbolism is reflected in early Western references to thirteen as an omen of bad fortune, which generally started to appear in the early 18th century and warned that thirteen people sitting down to a meal together presaged that one of them would die within the year:
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Some historians suggest the Christian distrust of Fridays is actually linked to the early Catholic Church's overall suppression of pagan religions and women. In the Roman calendar, Friday was devoted to Venus, the goddess of love. When Norsemen adapted the calendar, they named the day after Freyr, or Freyja (anglicised as Freya), Norse goddesses connected to love and sex. Both of these strong female figures once posed a threat to male-dominated Christianity, the theory goes, so the Christian church vilified the day named after them. This characterization may also have played a part in the fear of the number 13. It was said that Freyr would often join a coven of witches, normally a group of 12, bringing the total to 13. This idea may have originated with the Christian Church itself; it's impossible to verify the exact origins of most folklore. A similar Christian legend holds that 13 is unholy because it signifies the gathering of 12 witches and the devil.

-HowStuffWorks.com
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There is a folklore remedy though, it suggests that one climbs to the top of a mountain or hill and burn all the socks that has holes in them to cleanse off the bad luck due to Friday the 13th.

So, on a final note, Happy Friday 13th people~

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