Consider this the surviving Friday the 13th<\/sup> during a global pandemic edition part two with all new material not seen in the 2015 and 2021 versions of this column.<\/p>\n While one could argue that the fear of Friday the 13th<\/sup> has about as much scientific backing as people claiming that masks actually cause disease, the simple fact is that Friday the 13th<\/sup> is just a day like any other day.<\/p>\n Each year has at least one Friday the 13th<\/sup> but there can be as many as three in a 365-day span.<\/p>\n In 2015 when I first wrote about the topic, Friday the 13th occurred in February, March, and November. In 2017 through 2020 there were two Friday the 13ths per year.<\/p>\n Last year when I explored the issue as well as this year, much like the Highlander, there can be only one.<\/p>\n From a strictly scientific perspective Friday the 13th occurs in any month that begins on a Sunday. Simple as that.<\/p>\n Of course, these days it seems nothing is ever really as simple as just following the science for some people.<\/p>\n Hollywood definitely loves to roll out the scary movies on autumnal Friday the 13ths for maximum marketing impact so one would certainly be forgiven if they were unable to purge their memories of thinking that Friday the 13th<\/sup> is something straight outta Tinsel Town and the scary movie craze.<\/p>\n While many may think that the Friday the 13th<\/sup> craze started with a certain movie character named Freddy, the roots of Friday the 13th<\/sup> actually run much deeper than late 20th<\/sup> Century cinema.<\/p>\n According to the Oxford University Press Dictionary of Superstitions, the first reference to Friday the 13th did not occur until 1913, however, the components that ultimately converged to form it are much older and involve first looking at the two parts that make up Friday the 13th.<\/p>\n Folklore historian Donald Dossey contends that the unlucky nature of the number “13” originated with a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party in Valhalla.<\/p>\n Long before he was the subject of a television series, the trickster god Loki, who was not invited, arrived as the 13th guest, and arranged for H\u00f6\u00f0r to shoot Balder with a mistletoe-tipped arrow, which it turns out was the only substance that could kill him. I guess one could say that H\u00f6\u00f0r kissed him deadly under the mistletoe.<\/p>\n So, if we trace the unluckiness of the 13th<\/sup> back to Norse gods, and accept the position that in the 19th<\/sup> Century Friday was \u201cExecution Day in America\u201d based on it being the only day of the week that all executions took place, one could see how the convergence of a Friday on the 13th<\/sup> could be consider doubly unlucky.<\/p>\n Of course, the value and mysticism associated with Friday the 13th is strictly a product of the imagination of humans. In particular, American humans, since the United States is the only country that appears to celebrate Friday the 13th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n Or, put in Willy Wonka speak when it comes to Friday the 13th, \u201cCome with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n Friday and the number 13 were considered unlucky by some on their own, so it was only logical that both occurring at the same time would be even unluckier.<\/p>\n In fact, fear of Friday the 13th<\/sup> even has a name; friggatriskaidekaphobia (Frigga being the name of the Norse goddess for whom Friday is named in English and triskaidekaphobia meaning fear of the number thirteen).<\/p>\n Talk about a great word to roll out on the old Scrabble board.<\/p>\n Now that we know when it was first originated, as well as the scientific name for it, we might as well take a deeper look at why it is that some people ascribe such attention to Friday the 13th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n Personally, I have never feared Friday the 13th<\/sup> and am among the people who consider it just another day. Now, were yesterday Friday the 13th<\/sup> I may have considered it unlucky after cutting a piece of my toe with nail clippers.<\/p>\n However, yesterday was Friday the 12th<\/sup> and just a slip of the clippers versus a cosmically unlucky day causing me to draw my own blood.<\/p>\n I will not alter my activities today, nor will I think that today is any unluckier than any other day.<\/p>\n Certainly, one could argue that we are all living in some sort of extended Friday the 13th<\/sup> unlucky paradigm brought about by the destruction of natural habitat and rising global temperatures that is creating new viruses that are pouring through the global population like an avalanche coming down the mountain. But that is both a column for another day, and a case for Mulder and Scully.<\/p>\n While there are other days to write about havoc humankind unleashes on the planet as a whole, the arrival of Friday the 13th<\/sup> made me think about sports and the superstitious rituals that many players seem to follow.<\/p>\n During my years covering sports at all levels, I have seen more than my share of superstitions play out among the people I have interacted with.<\/p>\n There are players who will eat the same pregame meal because they feel that to eat anything else would risk certain disaster on the field.<\/p>\n Hitters on a hot streak in baseball are notorious for continuing whatever \u201croutine\u201d it is that they feel is behind their streak since they feel any deviation will likely mean the end to the streak.<\/p>\n The movie Bull Durham<\/i> did a very good job showing the superstitious side of baseball through chants over bats, breathing through one\u2019s eyelids, chicken, and of course a garter belt where the rose goes in the front.<\/p>\n Baseball is not the only sport with superstitions. Across all level of sports there are athletes who have a lucky shirt, or other article of clothing that they cannot go onto the field of battle without.<\/p>\n The tradition of \u201cplayoff beards\u201d can be considered another sport superstition that athletes employ.<\/p>\n The link between superstitions and sports can start at a very early age.<\/p>\n Back in high school I did a feature article on the goalie of my school\u2019s woman\u2019s soccer team, who attributed her on-field success to a lucky argyle sock that she wore during every game.<\/p>\n Granted it was not a pair of socks but one single sock that took over when her \u201cmagic shoes\u201d fell ill.<\/p>\n Throughout my career, I have been around many other superstitious athletes, and I am sure I will meet many more. To date though a single “lucky” Argyle sock has been the most memorable superstition I have encountered.<\/p>\n On this Friday the 13th<\/sup> beware of those around you who are extra cautious of their surroundings and if you find yourself short one Argyle sock in the wash, I have a pretty good idea where it might have run off to.<\/p>\n Now if you\u2019ll excuse me, I am going to see if I can find a black cat while walking under a ladder and holding a broken mirror while stepping on all of the sidewalk cracks I can find.<\/p>\n Copyright 2022 R. Anderson<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last year, on Friday, August 13, 2021 I wrote my semi annual column about Friday the 13th. The column featured a pandemic twist with the thought that by the time the next Friday the 13th rolled around the pandemic would be over and the only thing to fear on Friday the 13th would be bad … Continue reading Another Year of Observing Friday the 13th During a Pandemic<\/span> ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Black-cat.jpg\")
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Photo R. Anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>
Photo R. Anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>
Photo R. Anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n