Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th originated from Christianity relating to the "13th guest at the Last Supper- Judas, the apostle said to have betrayed Jesus and the crucifixion of Jesus was on a Friday". (John Roach) The fear behind this is directly related to the fact that since the 13th guest at the Last Supper was the one who betrayed Jesus, people believe that the number 13 has to be unlucky as it was for Jesus. As a result of religious beliefs becoming so prevalent in society today, people have begun to pick up on this superstition and have fed into it for centuries.    For more information about this, 
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/09/130912-friday-13th-thirteenth-superstitions-phobias-nation-culture/

http://www.ibtimes.com/friday-13th-history-origins-myths-superstitions-unlucky-day-395108

The superstition has become so prevalent in our culture of the world today that according to John Roach, "Its been estimated that [U.S.] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they normally would do".This to me is ridiculous. There are many people who fall into the trap of this superstition because our culture allows it to flourish especially with the popular horror film Friday the 13th where Jayson Voorhees goes around slashing up people for being in his home at Camp Crystal Lake. Since this killer only comes out to do his business on Friday the 13th, people suddenly believe that this could happen to them on a Friday the 13th because that is when all bad luck is supposed to occur.  

Overall, I believe this superstition to be well just that, a superstition. I believe that if people believe in it and its power enough, that they are in turns drawing the unluckiness or bad energy to them during this day. People in this day and age have such strong beliefs about things but really have no evidence to back them up. For example, some of my closest friends will swear by Friday the 13th saying that this day is a lucky day for them. They may have gotten a new job that day, found money, won a contest or whatever it may be. For my friends, they treat Friday the 13th as a day to embrace for them much like a birthday and I believe it is because of this, that they bring the goodness to themselves. People choose to make the best of what they have or just blame it on something that isn't real and that is something we will be combating as a society for many years to come.