Most years have one Friday-the-13th but this year we are curse — or blessed if you happen to be Taylor Swift with two. Today is the second (and last) one of the year. The first was in January and, truth to tell, I don’t really remember noticing. Some years, apparently there can be as many as three!
That seems a big potential for bad luck, unless of course (as mentioned above) you are singer/songwriter Taylor Swift. According to the hype about her: She was born on the 13th (though it didn’t happen to be a Friday) and she claims that whenever she is seated in row 13 or row M (the 13th letter) at an award show, she always wins. When she ‘Tay-lurks’, she goes to a fan’s livestream and comments 13 emojis. If she sees a 13, it’ll bring her luck, but if she sees no number 13 that day, she’ll lose.
Hmmm. Where the Friday part fits into all that, I have no idea. (Truth to tell, I don’t really understand any of those last two sentences about ‘Tay-lurks’ and emojis… I’m definitely the wrong generation.)
What I do understand is that the Friday-the-13th superstition has evolved over time and across cultures. It is difficult to pinpoint its precise origins. Both Friday and the number 13 have been regarded as unlucky in certain cultures throughout history — unlucky 13 ia traceable back to Norse mythology, when Loki, the god of mischief, gate-crashed a banquet in Valhalla, bringing the number of gods in attendance to 13 with disastrous results.