What's Up with Friday the 13th?

Show of hands---how many of you are afraid to get out of bed on Friday the 13^th?  Because, you know, if you lived in Greece or in a Spanish speaking country, you would more likely be worried about Tuesday the 13^th.  But the ancient Chinese, as well as the Egyptians, actually considered the number 13 to be lucky. 

So what’s up with Friday the 13^th?  Is it really a day chuck full of bad luck? 

The thing is, the thirteenth day of any month will always fall on a Tuesday if that month began on a Thursday.  And, if a 31-day month contains a Tuesday the 13th, the following month will always contain a Friday the 13th.  But no more than three Friday the 13ths can ever occur in any one year. 

We can always find coincidental connections around numbers and dates if we look hard enough for them. And it's usually more fun to tell scary stories about them than uplifting ones; pluls people tend to remember them (and exaggerate them) more frequently.  Thus, they hang around and continue to grow.

The truth is, according to the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics, there are actually FEWER accidents on Friday the 13^th than on other Fridays.  But perhaps that’s just because people were being more careful on those days.

So here’s the point.  No matter what day it is, be careful, be prudent, and pray for the protection of your Guardian Angel every day.  Plus, it never hurts to wear clean underwear when you go somewhere in a car.  At least that’s what my grandmother always said.

Have any favorite superstitions you’d like share?  Send them along, in the comment section below!