Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Liz Wade and I'm Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a
special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter
where in the world they live, Friday the thirteenth? Are you frightened when
I say these words? If the words Friday the thirteenth frighten you, you
are like millions of other people. They share the same fear. They believe
that Friday the thirteenth is an extremely unlucky and even dangerous day. But is
Friday the thirteenth and unlucky day? Is something bad more likely to happen to
a person on Friday the thirteenth. Today's spotlight is on Friday the thirteenth.
Many years ago, humans needed a way to organize time. They made a
system of days, weeks, months, and years. In Western cultures,
there are twelve months in a year, and there are about thirty days in
each month. Each week has seven days. About two times every year,
the thirteenth day of the month will be a Friday. Some people say that
each Friday the thirteenth is very unlucky. They fear this day. Fear of
Friday the thirteenth is mostly a Western tradition. It is even a part of
popular culture. For example, there are some horror films called Friday the thirteenth.
They are very violent and frightening. Many people watch them because they enjoy
being frightened. In some of these movies, the violence begins on the day
Friday the thirteenth. Where does this fear come from? Experts believe that the
fear of Friday the thirteenth comes from two separate fears that come together. They
are the fear of the number thirteen and the fear of the day Friday.
Many people believe each separate thing is already unlucky, but when you combine them,
they are even more unlucky. There are many stories about where the fear
of Friday the thirteenth came from. Donald Ducie is a folklore historian. He
studies ancient stories from many different cultures. Ducie tells National Geographic Magazine about the
beginning of the fear of the number thirteen. He says, the first writing
about the fear of the number thirteen comes from an ancient Norse story. Adam
Novice tells this story. The great hero Balder was having a special party.
There were twelve people at the party. Then Loki came to the party.
He had not been invited. When he came, there were thirteen people.
Loki liked to play tricks. He told another person to shoot an arrow at
Balder. Balder died and the whole earth got dark. The whole earth mourned.
It was a bad, unlucky day. In some traditions, people refuse
to serve a meal to exactly thirteen people. They believe it is very bad
luck. In France, there used to be people called fourteeners. People having
a dinner party did not want to have thirteen guests, so they would invite
one more person to be at the table, a fourteen er. Some people
also believe the number thirteen is bad because of a story from the Christian Bible.
Thirteen was the number of people at jesus last meal before he died.
His follower Judas, was the thirteenth person to arrive at the meal. Judas
was the one who betrayed Jesus. These things made people mistrust the number thirteen.
Many high rise apartment buildings and hotels do not even have a thirteenth floor.
Most of these buildings go from floor twelve to floor fourteen, or they
use a different letter or number for the thirteenth floor. Many airports also do
not have a thirteenth gate. Hospitals and hotels often have no room number thirteen.
But this fear of the number thirteen is only one half of the fear
of Friday the thirteenth. The other half of fearing Friday the thirteenth is a
fear of the day Friday. The fear of Friday also comes from stories in
history. Jesus was killed on a Friday. In the Christian Bible and in
other religious books, there is a story of a great flood that destroyed the
earth. Some people say the flood rains started on Friday long ago. Some
people refused to start new projects on a Friday because of these stories. Sailors
were especially worried about Fridays. They would often refuse to set sail on a
Friday. Rina Dam tells an old story about sailors and Friday the thirteenth.
The British Navy wanted to stop sailor's fear of Friday. They wanted to show
them there was nothing to be worried about, so they planned a new trip.
They chose the sailors on a Friday. They launched the ship on a
Friday. They named the ship the h M. S. Friday. They
even chose a man, aimed James Friday, to lead the trip as the
captain. Then one Friday morning, the ship set sail for its first trip.
It was never seen or heard from again. No one knows if this
story is true or not, but it may have made people even more afraid
to do important things on a Friday. Even today. Fear of Friday the
thirteenth is common in Western cultures. Some research shows that more people go to
the hospital on Friday the thirteenth. Some people refuse to even go to work.
Some people try not to plan an important event like a wedding for Friday
the thirteenth. Donald Dawcie estimates that businesses lose about eight hundred million dollars each
Friday the thirteenth. People will not fly on an airplane on Friday the thirteenth.
They do not do all the business they would normally do. Many of
these people may not even know the stories about the history of Friday the thirteenth.
They have a superstitious fear of the day, That is, they fear
it for no good reason. Superstitious fears are common in many cultures around the
world, but they can be very unhealthy. They may stop people from living
normal lives because they are so afraid. But people do not need to be
afraid. Richard Weissman is a psychologist from the University of Herefordshire. He has
some wise words for people who fear Friday the thirteenth. People need to remember
that they can create much of their own good and bad luck, and they
should concentrate on being lucky. By, for example, looking at the positive
events in their lives, they can remember all the good things that have happened,
and most of all, they can be prepared to take control of their
future. It is true that bad things can happen on Friday the thirteenth,
but bad things can happen every day, and so can good things. Christians
believe that the world is ordered by a loving God, not by luck.
They know that they do not have to be afraid, not even on Friday
the thirteenth. The writer of this program was Sarah DeCosta. The producer was
Liz Wade. The voices you heard were from the United States. All quotes
were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this
program again and read it on the internet at www dot Radio English dot net.
This program is called Friday the thirteenth. You can also leave your comments
on our website or you can email us at radio at radio English dot net.
We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye,