Friday the 13th is the unfortunate intersecting of two historically “bad luck” omens.
Fridays have been universally shunned for various reasons. Jesus Christ was crucified on a Friday and although that was a sad event, it actually brought about good for mankind, thus the name Good Friday.
However, the Catholic Church used it as a precedent to attribute catastrophes to the poor little sixth day of the week. They claimed The Flood, Eve’s Temptation, the murder of Abel and the stoning of Stephen all happened on a Friday.
Chaucer warned of Friday’s misfortunes in “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale,” and some other warnings that have developed over time are: do not feed anyone butter churned or eggs laid on that day (those are hard to avoid in these modern times, but do your best); a child born on a Friday is doomed to misfortune; and do not go courting on a Friday. “A Friday sail/Will always fail” is an old rhyme. Sailors still hate to set sail on Friday.
