Happy Friday 13th!

Are you superstitious??

Did you know that Friday the 13th is considered the unluckiest day in Western superstition? It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday.

The fear of the number 13 has been given a scientific name: triskaidekaphobia; and on analogy to this the fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia, from the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή, meaning "Friday"), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς, meaning "thirteen").

The origin of the superstition is still unclear.  It may have arisen in the Middle Ages, originating from the story of Jesus' last supper and crucifixion in which there were 13 individuals present. While there is evidence* of both Friday and the number 13 being considered unlucky, there is no record of the two items being referred to as especially unlucky in conjunction before the 19th century.

A suggested origin of the superstition—Friday, 13 October 1307, the date Philip IV of France arrested hundreds of the Knights Templar—may not have been put together* until the 20th century. It is mentioned in the 1955 Maurice Druon historical novel The Iron King, John J. Robinson's 1989 work Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry, Dan Brown's 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code and Steve Berry's The Templar Legacy (2006).

Is there a superstitious day in your country?

Do you know any other superstitions of the Western culture?

Watch this video in order to find out about Britain’s biggest superstitions.

Vocabulary:

*Evidence: (noun) evidencia, prueba; (verb) demostar, probar.

*Put together: (phrasal verb) juntar, unir, reunir, crear. En este caso se refiere a la última definición.