Friday the 17th between history and superstition: this is why it brings bad luck in Italy
This date represents the unluckiest day of the year. But where does this popular belief originate from?
ROME – Today is not a Friday like any other, but the one much feared by the superstitious, Friday the 17th. This date represents the unluckiest day of the year. But where does this popular belief originate from?
THE MISLUCK OF FRIDAY 17TH
There are different hypotheses on the origin of the number 17: one of the most supported traces the superstition back to Latin. In the language of the ancient Romans the number 17 is written XVII, which when anagrammed becomes VIXI (“I lived“, therefore “I died” ). Other theories trace the misfortune of the number 17 back to one of the most serious defeats of the Roman Empire: the battle of the Teutoburg Forest in the year 9 AD, when three entire legionswere annihilated /strong> (the XVII, the XVIII and the XIX). The episode created an enormous upset in Rome, so much so that the numbers 17, 18 and 19 were no longer used for any legion.
The misfortune of the 17th could also beof biblical origin : in Genesis (7,11) it is indicated that the Universal Flood began on the 17th of the 2nd month in the six hundredth year of Noah’s life. The combination Friday and 17th is, however, of Christian origins: in the Bible it is written that Jesus died on Friday. For some people, more than a superstition, the number 17 can be experienced as a real fear. In this case we talk about heptacaidecaphobia.
THE UNLUCKY NUMBERS
If in Italy the 17th brings bad luck, in the rest of the world things change. The ‘lucky’ number par excellence is 13, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries. The negative numerological association is traditionally attributed to the number of participants in the Last Supper, from which it would be gave rise to the custom of avoiding banquets of thirteen people, under penalty of the immediate death of the thirteenth guest. In the luxurious Hotel Savoy in London, the problem is solved by placing an envelope among the guests or even including a cat.
READ ALSO: Not just Friday the 17th: here are the others ‘unlucky’ numbers
Another theory, however, has it that on Friday the 13th of 1307 Philip the Fair gave the order to exterminate the Knights Templar to seize their wealth. The number comes from ancient times associated with death in the Kabbalah.
In Australia, however, among the numbers associated with bad luck is 87. The superstition mainly concerns cricket. It was created by Keith Miller, an old glory of the sport, who had identified in this issue a series of misfortunes that occurred on the playing fields. Even if some of these were unfounded, ’87 has since gained a sinister reputation.
Since 2001 the number 11 has also been associated with bad luck. This is attributable to the tragedy of September 11th. Among the various coincidences that have excited the souls of the superstitious, the fact that the first plane hijacked was the American flight Airlines 11, which had 92 passengers (9 + 2 = 11) and that September 11th was the 254th day of the year (2+5+4 = 11).