Friday the 13th is a day superstitiously believed to be bad luck in the West, occurring when the thirteenth day of months of the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday. At least one occurs each year, and up to three can occur some years. Friday the 13th can occur only when a month begins on a Sunday.

The number thirteen has been associated with several unlucky happenings in different cultures, such as a banquet of twelve Norse gods gatecrashed by Loki, which resulted in the death of the popular Balder by a spear of mistletoe, or several associations with the Last Supper in Christianity. Despite Friday 13 being the day when the Knights Templar were exiled from France, no records exist of both Friday and 13 being considered unlucky together until the first half of the 19th century.

Different cultures have different days they consider similarly unlucky, such as Tuesday the 13th in Spanish-speaking countries and Greece or Friday the 17th in Italy. The fear of Friday the 13th is either paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia.

For pictures related to the movie franchise, tag Friday_the_13th_(series).

More Information

Friday the 13th (Wikipedia)