Number 13 is an unlucky number
Not so rare
The fear of the number 13 is very common. Well, if this "unlucky" number also falls on Friday, then superstitious people are all the more alert.
One consolation for such unfortunate people is only their own confidence in the "relative rarity" of this unfortunate coincidence of the number and day of the week. In fact, every year there is at least one Friday that coincides with the 13th of the month. Sometimes there are two such coincidences every year, and certainly not more than three.
When finding out the frequency of coincidence of the number 13 with Friday, it is enough to limit ourselves to 400 years, because then there is an exact repetition of the cycle. In this time interval, there are 4,800 13 numbers, distributed over the days of the week as follows: 684 times on Thursdays and Saturdays, 685 on Mondays and Tuesdays, 687 on Wednesdays and Sundays, and finally 688 times on Fridays. Thus, albeit with a slight difference, the number 13 falls on Friday more often than on any other day of the week.
The notorious fear of the number 13 because of its prevalence has long been called "triskaidekaphobia" in special circles. On account of its origin, there are a number of theories, however, none of them is finally proven.
The most widespread version was associated with the last supper of Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles, as a result of which there was an association with the inevitability of the death of one of the participants in any company of 13 people. That is why, for example, in France it is possible to hire a professional "fourteenth guest" in case there are exactly 13 participants at a party or dinner party. And in England, at a banquet, it is customary to put a teddy bear on the 13th chair, which is removed only when everyone is seated in their places.
Something similar can be found in Scandinavian mythology. The feast in Valhalla was attended by exactly 12 gods. But when Loki, the 13th in a row, appeared, a quarrel arose that insidiously cost the life of everyone's favorite Balder. His death served as a harbinger of the death of the gods and the whole world.
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Another version is based on the prevalence of playing cards in the Middle Ages. As in today's bridge, the deck then had four suits of 13 cards. And because the addiction to the card game turns into losses and ruin for many, the opponents of the cards called them nothing more than "the devil's prayer book."
Perhaps the "case of the number 13" has its origins in more ancient times. Even the ancient Greek poet Hesiod, who glorified peasant labor in the poem "Works and Days", persistently urged not to start sowing on the 13th; and the Mycenaean king Agamemnon fell at the hands of the insidious wife of Clytemnestra, as they say, on the 13th.
From time immemorial in Babylon, 12 was considered a sacred number. In accordance with the zodiac, the year is divided into 12 months, and the day and night, respectively, by 12 hours. Exceeding this threshold was perceived as a bad sign, which can be evidenced by the still extant expressions "So it struck 13" ("Well, that's too much!") And "damn dozen".
It is not surprising that in hotels in Western countries the number “12” is immediately followed by “14”. And on the plane, finding the 13th row is no less difficult than the 13th floor in a skyscraper.
One Massachusetts American was prompted by this superstition even prudently to divorce after 12 years of marriage. And after the 13th year, when the reason for separation disappeared, he again married his ex-wife. However, the superstitious gentleman, as before, prefers not to leave the house on the 13th of every month for fear of an accident and quickly flips through the 13th page in magazines.
But the fact that express trains, all in the same West, have car 12 and car 14, but no car 13, has a completely prosaic explanation. The representative of the German railways commented on this: "Intercity-Express" should consist of 14 cars, but as a rule only 12 cars are used. At the same time, in the second class they "save", usually on the 7th or 8th car. For the first class there are cars 11, 12, 13 and 14. But cars 11, 12 and 14 cannot be excluded from the train, because the 11th and 12th are non-smoking cars, and the 14th car (“for smokers ") is stuffed with special equipment, for example, a radiotelephone. Actually, the 13th car even exists”.
But the fatal role of the number 13 in the life of Richard Wagner, whose name and surname consists of 13 (Latin) letters, remains absolutely inexplicable, however, just like the names of Hector Berlioz, Heinrich Heine, Georges Braque, Albrecht Durer, Giuseppe Verdi, Marilyn Monroe, Walter Gropius, Isadora Duncan, Ingrid Bergman, Edgar Allan Poe, etc.
Fatal coincidence
In the life of Richard Wagner, in reality, in some incomprehensible way, the number 13 ruled. The composer was born in 1813, and died on February 13, and the sum of the digits of his year of birth (1 + 8 + 1 + 3) is also 13. His theater in Bayreuth opened August 13. Wagner wrote (including his youth) 13 operas.
The premiere of Weber's opera Free Shooter, which had a huge impact on Wagner, took place on 13 October. R. Wagner's opera "Tannhäuser" suffered a fiasco in Paris on March 13, 1861, but it was also rehabilitated there on May 13, 1895. The Riga Theater, in which Wagner began his service as Kapellmeister, opened on 13 September 1837, and the composer completed work on the opera Tannhäuser on 13 April 1844.
Wagner spent 13 years in exile. The last day he lived in Bayreuth was 13 September. Liszt last visited him in Venice on January 13, 1883, and the year of Wagner's death was the 13th year of German unity. By the way, all this information was taken from the "Book of 1000 Miracles" published in 1913 (!).
Like the superstitions around the number 13, there is also a fear of Friday as the day of the week. The probable reasons are the following. According to tradition, Jesus Christ was crucified on Friday. Adam and Eve seem to have tasted of the tree of knowledge, bringing sin into the world, again on Friday. On this same day, it is believed that both of them died.
One should not exclude a possible connection with the already mentioned ill-fated meal in Valhalla. The "inviting party" then was the goddess of marriage and love Fria, who gave not only life to the untimely deceased Baldar, but also the name of the fifth day of the week ("freitag", "fraidi").
The most famous victims of "Friday superstition" were Napoleon Bonaparte and Bismarck. They say Napoleon never fought, and the Chancellor did not sign treaties on Fridays. However, the same story is told about the oil tycoon Getty.
Of course, we have to wait for special troubles when Friday meets the number 13, the violator of the impeccable perfection of the beloved dozen. For some time now, they even believe that a scientific basis has been found for this. Thus, at the end of 1984, the General German Automobile Club recorded a 30% increase in the number of road accidents on three Fridays, which fell that year on the 13th (January, April and July). Unfortunately, the newly minted experts took into account only one year and focused solely on the numbers, forgetting to take into account factors such as the season and weather conditions. The arguments presented in one of the issues of the medical publication "British Medical Journal" for 1993 seem to be equally unconvincing. The article, in particular, said that on Fridays the 13th the risk of being admitted to hospital increases to 25%. At the same time, apparently, no one wondered if this was the result of self-hypnosis, which makes people so nervous these days that they themselves can provoke accidents.
A similar phenomenon actually exists and is described in special literature. Here's a classic example. Investors, fearing a sharp fall in the rate, begin to feverishly sell stocks, which as a result really leads to a landslide change in the rate.
Be that as it may, but also about Friday, and about the number 13 they say and write not only bad things. So, among Mohammedans and Hindus, Friday is considered a happy day, for which they especially like to appoint weddings. And here is how the Emmental folk omen sounds: "I fell in love on Friday - I got married soon."
On the other hand, for many, Friday means weekend eve. "Thank God, it's Friday!" - Anglo-Saxons like to say. For the members of the Kyue group, this was reflected in the song “I'm in love on Fridays”. And Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins even wrote a song called "Friday the 13th."
Kabbalah considers the number 13 to be especially auspicious. Indeed, in Hebrew (as well as in Arabic) 13 is the numerical value of the word "Ahad" ("Someone"). In addition, 13 divine qualities can be gleaned from the Second Book of Moses. It is also noteworthy that in medieval Christianity, 13 as a combination of 10 (commandments) and 3 (trinity) was perceived extremely positively.
For the French king Louis XIII (!), This number was favorite. Therefore, he married Anna of Austria when she was 13 years old.
N. Nepomniachtchi