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Friday the 13th is famously believed to be an unlucky day in Western cultures. This date arises when the 13th day of a month falls on a Friday, which occurs at least once in a year. In some years, it can occur up to three times. For example, in 2015, Friday the 13th occurred in February, March, and November. The same pattern is expected to repeat in 2026. Leap years starting on a Sunday, like 2012 and 2040, also have three Friday the 13ths in January, April, and July.
This day comes differently every time. Between 2017 and 2020, there were two Friday the 13ths per year, as it did in 2023. Then there are years like 2016, 2021, 2022, and the future ones, 2025, 2027, and 2028, where this day occurs only once. The current year, 2024, sees two such occurrences, first on 13 September 2024 and second on 13 December 2024. A Friday the 13th happens whenever the 1st day of a month begins on a Sunday, making it an interesting calendar phenomenon.
The Origins of a Superstition
According to an article by CNN, the superstition behind Friday the 13th is a mixture of myths and historical beliefs that have been formed over centuries. For long periods of time, cultures all around the world believed both Friday and the number 13 to be unlucky. As Charles Panati’s Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things tells us, it all goes back to Norse mythology when Loki’s disruptive presence as the 13th guest at a Valhalla feast led to tragedy. The superstition spread throughout Europe, where it merged with Biblical stories such as the Last Supper, in which Judas Iscariot, the 13th guest, betrayed Jesus before his crucifixion on a Friday.
Fridays were also historically associated with events such as Adam and Eve’s fall, Abel’s murder, and Noah’s Ark. The 19th century popularized Friday the 13th as a bad luck day, which was further driven by Thomas W Lawson’s novel Friday, the Thirteenth and Hollywood’s Friday the 13th films. Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code later added its own twist, cementing its modern infamy.
