Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Fear of Friday the 13th

According to MedicineNet the word "paraskevidekatriaphobia" was devised by Dr. Donald Dossey who told his patients that "when you learn to pronounce it, you're cured!"

Anyone have a fear of Friday the thirteenth?

I can honestly say I don't, in fact, the day is pretty much like any other usually, but it did mark the beginning of my relationship with my husband. We've been together almost 25 years now, so I figure it more for a good luck day than a bad luck day.

The superstition around the date has been around a very long time, but it hasn't been accepted as unlucky worldwide. Ancient Egyptians considered it lucky and so have the Chinese. There's some belief that the number 13 was purposely given a bad name by the rise of patriarchal religions during the early rise of western civilizations. Previously, 13 had been purportedly revered by goddess-worshipping cultures.

The myths around the number and the date are numerous and far-fetched, but we still omit the thirteenth floor in many buildings. Most, if not all, of Donald Trump's buildings seem to be lacking a thirteenth floor, but in at least one, there's no fourteenth floor either. Fourteen is considered bad luck in Feng Shui and the building's decorating and layout were planned by a Feng Shui expert. In fact, fourteen in Japanese sounds like the word ‘shuh-shuh’, which sounds like the word for death, and so it's common for people to avoid anything with the number 14. Many buildings in China lack both the thirteenth and fourteenth floor. A sure sign that western superstitions are making their way into eastern cultures.

I hope you have a lucky and happy Friday the thirteenth.