Sunday, January 15, 2012

Friday the 13th

Did You Survive Friday the 13th?
Did you survive Friday the 13th without any mishaps?  Some people get so spooked out by Friday the 13th, they are afraid to leave their home.  This year there will be 3 Friday the 13th dates as opposed the last year when there was only one.  Also, this year all of the Friday the 13th dates will fall 13 weeks apart.  How creepy is that?  Many psycho-analyses agree that the phobias associated with Friday the 13th   are widespread throughout the western culture.  There are some theories as to how and why Friday the 13th became to be known as a bad luck day.    Many Christians believe that Judas, (who betrayed Jesus) was the 13th guest at the Last Supper, and that Jesus was crucified on a Friday.   There are also some biblical scholars who are of the belief that Cain slew his brother Abel on a Friday the 13th.

Take the incident when a young lady went to Nassau for 2 weeks of vacation.  Naturally she was excited about the trip because that was her first time taking what some people would consider a lavish vacation.  When she arrived in Nassau, she had to clear customs before she was allowed to go claim her luggage.  But after clearing customs, her luggage was not to be found anywhere.   A prolonged search by the airline never did find her luggage.  She ended up having to spend money in the town’s shops for new clothes and accessories.  Of course they were at a much higher price than what she would have ever paid for them in her own home town.  The vacation was subsequently cut short and she ended up flying back home after only a few days in Nassau.   As a result of her experience, the young lady refuses to fly or have any significant business dealings on a Friday the 13th.  Does her experience gives her fear of Friday the 13th any credibility?

This is only one small example of some of the claims made by folks whose superstitious beliefs are magnified on Friday the 13th.    In fact, there are many more examples that doesn’t have an ounce of facts to back up it’s superstitious reasoning.    According to research done by the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute, there is nearly one trillion dollars that goes un-spent in the U.S. whenever there is a Friday the 13th. The Phobia Institute claims this is because many people refuse to make business deals of anykind, or take plane trips on a day when the 13th happens to fall on a Friday.  This study rings true when considering the young lady who lost her luggage when she traveled to Nassau.  
There are some theories as to how and why Friday the 13th became to be known as a bad luck day.    Many Christians believe that Judas, (who betrayed Jesus) was the 13th guest at the Last Supper, and that Jesus was actually crucified on a Friday.   There are also some biblical scholars who are of the belief that Cain slew his brother Abel on a Friday the 13th.

Here are a few significant occurrences that happened on Friday the 13th in previous years   
  1. Fidel Castro was born on Friday, Aug. 13, 1926, in the town of Biran, Cuba.
  2. Rapper Tupac Shakur died on Friday, Sept. 13, 1996.  He was shot 6 days earlier.  His killer has never been captured or prosecuted.  
  3. The Friday the 13th movie series contains a total of 12 films.   Four of the films in the series have debuted on a Friday the 13th.
  4. May 13, 1927: On this Friday the 13th the German stock market collapsed.  This helped to drive Germany into a depression.
  5.  Dec 13, 1940: Adolf Hitler ordered the invasion of Greece.  It happened to be on a Friday the 13th.
  6.  
    Friday the 13th 2012
  1. The ship Costa Concordia (Owned by Carnival Cruise Lines) sinks outside of Italy, 3 dead, and dozens are still missing.
  2. The stock market ran into some bad luck on Friday the 13th. Stocks declined on news of possible credit rating downgrades of European nations by S&P.    
  3. Haley Barbour, the retiring Governor of Mississippi, is catching heat for the pardoning of over 200 criminals in Mississippi.  


That does it for Friday the 13th superstitions.  Of course there are all levels of superstitious beliefs involving Friday the 13th.  What are your credulous beliefs?    
   

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