Friday the 13th Has Nothing to Do with Templars

One of the most widespread and persistent myths about Knights Templar is that Friday the 13th became an especially unlucky day after all Templars in France were rounded up on Friday, October 13th.

The reality is different (as usual). The number 13 has been considered unlucky thousands of years before the destruction of Knights Templar. For starters, the Code of Hammurabi, one of the world’s oldest legal documents, for an unknown reason omitted a 13th rule from its list of laws. Ancient Sumerians, who believed the number 12 to be a “perfect” number, considered the one that followed it decidedly non-perfect.

It is believed that the number 13 is considered unlucky in the Bible because on this particular day, Eve gave Adam the forbidden fruit which eventually led to the supposed fall of mankind (Fall from Grace).

Another source mentioned for the unlucky reputation of the number 13 is a Norse myth about twelve gods having a dinner party in Valhalla. The trickster god Loki, who was not invited, arrived as the thirteenth guest, and arranged for H;;r, the god of darkness, to shoot Balder, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Balder died, triggering much suffering in the world, which caused the number 13 to be considered unlucky.

While there is evidence of both Friday and the number 13[8] being considered unlucky, there is no record of the two items being referred to as especially unlucky in conjunction before the 19th century – it was triggered by a 1834 play Les Finesses des Gribouilles.

However, it is mostly agreed that Paraskevidekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th) was born in 1907, after the publication of the novel by Thomas W. Lawson’s novel, called ‘Friday, the Thirteenth’. The story revolves around the financial world and a Wall Street stock market crash that occurs on Friday the 13th.

So, it has nothing to do with Knights Templar… however, few realize how destructive this fear really is. In the USA alone, an estimated 21 million people in the United States are affected by it, making it the most feared day and date in history. Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business, taking flights or even getting out of bed. It has been estimated that about US$ 1 billion is lost in business on this day.