Tags
Friday the Thirteenth, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Superstition Stress, The life you want, thirteen
© 2023 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM. World Rights Reserved.

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Ever since I was a child, I have heard the phrase “Friday the Thirteenth” spoken with tension, even fear. So many people have a fear of Friday the Thirteenth that there is a term for it: Triskaidekaphobia. As a kid, I had no sense of any problem with that date. I was born on the thirteenth of October, which was a Monday. However, in my earliest debunking campaign, to try to help kids set aside their fear of the day, I actually told my buddies I was born on a Friday the Thirteenth! Further, I told them 13 was my lucky number. Did it work? We’ll never know. Remembering my second grade conversations with a little smile, I went on to collect information about what could have led to to this widespread cultural belief in a bad luck day.
It turns out that two very nasty moments in history occurred on Friday the Thirteenth. The first was in 1307, in France. The Knights Templar, formerly powerful and well respected, had a reversal of fortune and were banned across Europe. For over 2 years, people sought out the Knights Templar, arrested, tortured, and murdered them. At the culmination of the campaign, two of the top leaders of the Knights were burned to death on Friday, March 13th, 1314. This was done in Paris, below the Pont Neuf bridge. Today, a plaque commemorates the event. No doubt stories of this time were passed down from generation to generation, until perhaps the details were lost and, centuries later, only the vague fear remained.
Now you know about the negative history. Let’s talk about the number 13, which has some good history:
- The Aztecs used a 13-day week with a special god, Tezcatlipoca, who ruled the 13th day with mystery and magic
- A Baker’s Dozen is the tradition of giving a thirteenth item free, when 12 baked items are purchased.
- The Greeks thought 13 was a powerful number because Zeus was the most powerful of their Gods and also the 13th.
So why don’t we just go with 13 as a power number? Further, why don’t we celebrate any 13th day as being filled with mystery and magic? And on Friday the Thirteenth, let’s smile and know that we can always choose to have a great day. And that’s us, ever more Healthy Happy Loving Lifesm! Are you in?
Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert, holistic healer, and award-winning author who celebrates life. She has a longtime natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. Among her books are: Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), Inspirations for Peace Within: Quotes and Images to Uplift and Inspire, and Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine. The books are available on Amazon and through Kebba’s office. To email us, kebba@kebba.com .

Books by Kebba Buckley Button