It seems unusual that we have so few superstitious days - Friday the 13th. Why don’t we celebrate the number 12 which is considered “complete” and be positive rather than something that is bad luck?
Everywhere it says the origin is likely the 13th guest/disciple being Judas Iscariot at the Last Supper, along with Jesus dying on a Friday even there’s no explicit reference in the Bible that Friday the 13th “carries a curse.” The Bible generally condemns superstitions and says the opposite - that nothing is done outside of “god’s sovereign control”. Don’t mind me thinking that’s even scarier.
I guess this superstition would be an “afterthought” superstition - something that made sense in the rear-view mirror.
Thinking of the idea of the rear-view mirror metaphor, the rear-view mirror was invented in the 19th century. It was first patented in 1921 for regular cars. It was called a wing-mirror. It was known as the “Cop-Spotter.” There may have been rear-facing mirrors on horse-drawn carriages, and it seems to me this would be likely. How else will the Americans know that their stage coach is being overtaken by robbers? There’s a reference in Wikipedia that one of the motor racers claimed he got the idea from seeing a horse-drawn vehicle with one. That was in 1904.
We have three of these Friday the 13th this year. That’s the maximum in any year. The next is March and the final one is November. I checked that out thinking of Port Dover and its place in history as the motorcycle convention capital on every Friday the 13th. Good thing it happens in Canada where the weather is mostly too cold.
There are two lesser known superstitious days. Tuesday the 13th in Spain and Greece, and December 28th in Britain, France and Spain. In Italy Friday the 17th is considered more unlucky that Friday the 13th. So I guess they won’t be worrying about their gold medal standing today as much as the other countries.
These are all Western traditions. There are many superstitious days in Eastern cultures - way too many. It seems like the opposite of Western cultures.
And what about this ironic headline for today: “Funny Friday the 13th Jokes to Brighten Your Day.”
I didn’t find any Paperwhite Narcissus bulbs this fall. They would be blooming now in the greenhouse. We’ll have to make do with a picture.
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