You're in luck: Here are 5 things you might not know about Friday the 13th

Roberto Villalpando, Austin American-Statesman
·2 min read

It's 2023, y'all! We are only shins deep into the 2020s, but we're already surviving the coronavirus pandemic, inflation, drought and that wicked Texas freeze a couple of years back. Even though it’s Friday the 13th, count yourself lucky because we're about to learn five things about this superstitious day:

1. It happens every year

This year, we have two days that are Friday the 13th — Jan. 13 and Oct. 13. We had only one Friday the 13th last year in 2022 — on May 13.

Next year, Friday the 13th won't arrive until Sept. 13 and Dec. 13, 2024.

A standard year (not a leap year) can have up to three such Fridays if the year starts on a Thursday. The next time that will happen is 2026, when Friday the 13th will occur in February, March and November.

2. Friday the 13th isn't always unlucky

Famous people born on Friday the 13th include Alfred Hitchcock, Fidel Castro and twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Pop star Taylor Swift was not born on Friday the 13th, but she considers 13 to be her lucky number. Oddly enough, she was born on Wednesday the 13th in December 1989, which allowed her to turn 13 on a Friday the 13th in 2002.

3. You can have a phobia about Friday the 13th

Paraskevidekatriaphobia comes from the Greek words for Friday (“paraskevi”), 13 (“dekatria”) and fear (“phobia”). The therapist who coined the term in the 1990s used to tell people that when you can pronounce paraskevidekatriaphobia, you’re cured.

4. Other days are considered unlucky, too

Superstitious people in Greece and in some Spanish-speaking countries regard Tuesday the 13th as a day of bad luck. But Friday the 13th can be a great day to get married or book a flight, because so many people refuse to do either on those days that it can create a buyer’s market.

5. OK, Friday the 13th can be unlucky for some

The Knights Templar were arrested and tortured on Friday, Oct. 13, 1307; a plane crashed in the Andes on Friday, Oct. 13, 1972, and the survivors infamously resorted to cannibalism; and Tupac Shakur died in Las Vegas on Friday, Sept. 13, 1996, days after being shot multiple times. One to keep an eye out for: On April 13, 2029, a 1,200-foot-wide asteroid will come within 18,000 miles of Earth, which is closer than some satellites orbit.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: You're in luck: 5 things you might not know about Friday the 13th