FRIDAY the 13th !! EDUCATE YOURSELF!
A History Of Friday The 13th
"What seems to appear, after one reviews the history, is that the modern taboo of Friday and 13 (and especially the two together) is the result of the Christian manipulation of earlier Pagan beliefs."
SOURCE: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/mythology/37295#ixzz0wTNQcgbR
So when Friday is combined with the 13th day of the month we have a double dose of pagan symbolism and female significance. Up until the Middle Ages when pagans continued to celebrate symbolic pagan days, Friday the 13th was thought to be especially lucky because it combined the goddess’s sacred day with her sacred number (drawn from the 13 months of the lunar year). As a result, Friday the 13th was a celebration and festival day for many Pagans.
While the New Testament rationale for the dislike of both Friday and the number thirteen is often used as the explanation for the bad karma associated with Friday the 13th, it is, in my opinion, a little superficial to create such a strong taboo. Especially when one takes into account the pre-Christian history of both Friday and the number 13. After all, the Last Supper was certainly not the only time Christ gathered with his disciples and there were always 13 of them. No one suggests these earlier events were unlucky. In fact, based on the historical view of thirteen at the time of Christ, all indications show 13 as a lucky number, and this probably played a role in determining how many disciples there should have been. The same goes for the New Testament rationale for the dislike of Fridays. The crucifixion of Christ is the foundation of Christianity. After all this holy day is called Good Friday and is celebrated as a positive day!
What seems to appear, after one reviews the history, is that the modern taboo of Friday and 13 (and especially the two together) is the result of the Christian manipulation of earlier Pagan beliefs.
This is far from the only pagan celebration day Christianity has changed. Both Christmas and Easter are old pagan holidays, where many of the pagans’ traditions continue to be practiced, only without the understanding of their true origins. But Friday the 13th is different from these other plagiarized holidays because the Christians turned what used to be a day of celebration of female strength and power into a day of fear and taboos.
In trying to understand why they would try to do such a thing, one has to keep in mind that for the first couple of hundred years after Christ and the birth of Christianity, Christians were forced to practice their religion in secret for fear of persecution. This may explain why they linked their Christian celebrations with pagan celebrations to avoid being discovered. Their inability to practice Christianity in public during this time probably resulted in their dislike of pagan religions, the dominant religions during the time of the Christian persecution. And in turn, this led to their persecution of pagan celebrations when Christianity became the dominant religion.
It is not surprising this took place. After all, most conquering nations try to destroy or change the customs of the conquered. We do, however, have to recognize it as inconsistent with the teachings of Christianity - where tolerance and "turning the other cheek" is encouraged. In actual practice, however, the Christians of the time realized they would be much more successful in suppressing some pagan celebrations if, instead of trying to eliminate the holiday, they focused their energy on changing the meaning behind the celebrations to coincide with Christianity. Other holidays, such as Friday the 13th, they suppressed by convincing people that unfortunate things would happen to them if they celebrated on those festival days.
We need to take the history of Friday and the number 13 into account and look at them afresh in order to see them in a more positive light. Australians have one interesting way of looking at this day. Australian lottery ticket sales go through the roof on Friday the 13th. Maybe they try to defy the odds by taking the bad luck jinx on, or maybe they realize things are rarely what they seem on the surface to be. Ideas, superstitions and cultural symbolism exist for numerous different reasons, but it is usually based on the evolution or manipulation of beliefs or customs pre-dating them. It is important for us to question the origin of these customs, to make an informed decision on whether we want to partake in the custom, challenge it, or just ignore it.
The copyright of the article A History Of Friday The 13th - part 3 in Mythology is owned by Gabriella Kalapos. Permission to republish A History Of Friday The 13th - part 3 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.