PICTURE OF THE WEEK: Friday The 13th

The first day of this week's news issue falls on Friday the 13th of October. There are many myths and superstitions associated with Friday The 13th. A superstition is defined as a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false understanding of what causes things to happen. A myth is a popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something, whether it is true or false. Here, we explore some of the superstitions and myths surrounding Friday the 13th.

One of the most common superstitions in America is that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day. The date is so well known that box office hits have been made of the series of horror films called "Friday The 13th." Superstitions about the date have existed since ancient times. Some ancient civilizations considered Friday to be lucky. Ancient Romans celebrated the sixth day of the week, Friday, dedicating it to their beautiful goddess Venus. When Norsemen chose to adopt the Roman method of naming days, they used Venus as their name for the sixth day of the week. Their closest translation for Venus was Frigg (the Norse Goddess of Marriage) or Freya, which eventually became Friday. Friday was considered to be their lucky day.

From a religious point of view, some consider Friday to be unlucky. For Muslims, Friday was the day that their God created Adam; it was also on a Friday that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden apple in the garden of Eden. Christians often remember the Friday long ago when Romans crucified Christ.

There are superstitions that go along with the number 13 as well. The Scandinavian belief that the number 13 is bad luck came from their mythological 12 demigods, who were eventually joined by a 13th demigod named Loki. Loki was the evil and cruel demigod who brought humans misfortune.

Christians believe the number 13 is the number of people at the Last Supper and that the 13th guest at the table was Jesus' traitor, Judas.

For many others, Friday the 13th has no special significance; it is just like any other day! What do you think about Friday the 13th? Click here to tell us what you think about this story!