SURVEY SAYS: Friday the 13th and Superstitions

July 16, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Last week, I asked NewsDash readers if Friday the 13th causes any anxiety, and how superstitious you are in general.

Most responding readers reported not being bothered by Friday the 13th (90%) and not having any superstitions at all (50%). Eight percent said they aren’t generally superstitious, but all the hype about Friday the 13th makes them nervous. Two percent indicated that are very superstitious about it; these readers may have paraskevidekatriaphobia.  

Among readers reporting they have superstitions, 24% said they follow some, but only because they are funny or quirky, 18% follow some, and 9% answered with a definite “yes.”  

In the verbatim responses, some readers noted that they carry superstitions from their sports-playing days. Others echo my sentiment, that Friday is a good day no matter the date. Some funny responses were from a couple of readers who said they feared the word “paraskevidekatriaphobia,” and a reader who replied, “Mostly I’m superstitious about surveys about Friday the 13. Why tempt fate?”  

But my favorite response was, “I’m not superstitious — it brings you bad luck.”

Verbatim   

my birthday is the 13th. I do not feel I was born under a dark cloud! 

 

Who cares about Friday the 13th. Monday the 13th is what usually terrifies me! 🙂 

 

I believe in coincidences, not superstitions, and have always had good luck with the number 13. My favorite cat is black and I know I've stepped on many sidewalk cracks without ever breaking my mother's back. 

 

Since we get paid semi monthly, I've grown to like Friday the 13th since its always payday! 

 

Since I'll be flying tomorrow (Friday the 13th), I'm sure there's nothing to this superstition nonsense (knock on wood). 

 

My superstitions are mainly geared around sports - football in particular. Although I will occasionally "knock wood." 

 

I would definitely avoid black cats, walking under ladders and stepping on sidewalk cracks. 

 

I broke or cut 5 ribbons during one of my bridal showers before I married 33 years ago. I laughed and said no matter what I was only going to have two children...max! My best friend pointed out recently that I did have 5 children...2, I gave birth to, and 3 step children. Hmmmmmm..... 

 

Having been born on a Friday the 13th, I always thought it was a lucky day for me and it's generally worked out that way! 

 

I was born on the 13th (Saturday) and that has made me more aware of "Friday the 13th" than I think I would have otherwise. I've found that I normally have a better day on Friday the 13th but then that is probably all in my mind, after all it is Friday. 

 

I love Friday the 13th. My favorite days of the year.

Verbatim (cont.)  

Things do seem to happen during the Full Moon! 

 

As an amateur historian, it is interesting that it was a Friday, October 13, 1307 when the financially broke King Phillip IV of France, presumably with the Pope Clement V's permission, raided all the French monasteries of the Knights Templar thinking they had lots of money. Some of the knights were killed, others arrested and tortured with only a few escaping. It was a futile attempt because there was no money. King Phillip died within the year. 

 

Friday the 13th is BUNK! Now the advice I receive from my daily Horoscope, that's something else entirely. 

 

overrated! 

 

Before we were married, my husband's mother wouldn't let him travel on Friday the 13th. That was when he still lived under her roof and she paid for his car. She's been gone for almost 8 years now and I always think of her on a Friday the 13th. 

 

Friday the 13th usually doesn't bother me, but on the last one, I was rear-ended on the highway and had my car totaled. Although I will be working from home, and my wife won't leave the house this Friday the 13th, I'd say it was a lucky day because we walked away from the accident without injury. 

 

I wouldn't say that I am overly superstitious, but that being said, I still try to avoid such things as walking under ladders or breaking mirrors because a reasonable person would avoid such things. The only real anxiety that I feel on a Friday the 13th is when it correspondes with pay day and I realize that my paycheck is not keeping pace with the price of groceries and gas. 

 

Fear of 23-letter words such as "paraskevidekatriaphobia"... 

 

Nope, none, nada, zip, zero. The only thing that scares me is alphabet soup - DOL,IRS,EBSA,ACA,etceteraphobia. 

 

Utter Nonsense 

 

I think the universe listens. If you say, 'I want a different life,' you really should specify a BETTER life. Different is only rarely better! I knock wood that I am who I am, where I am, when I am. We have a pretty cushy life here in America and I try to remember to thank the powers that be for that every day. 

 

I always have to chuckle a bit when someone refuses to sit in row 13 on an airplane, as if their presence in the row/seat might actually cause the plane to crash. Trust me....if the plane is going down, it doesn't matter what row you're in! 

 

No superstitions, but I don't take chances either. Some so-called superstitions are actually patterns which can increase the likelihood for undesirable events. 

 

I was a baseball player all my life through college and baseball is one of the most superstitious sports ever. It's all patterns and repetitions and when things go well, you try to stick to them. It used to be taking the same amount of practice swings the next time after getting a hit, not stepping on the chalk lines, etc. Now it's not quite as bad but these "habits" are tough to break & Fri 13th is one I hope passes through quickly and quietly. I suppose some people might call that "OCD"!! 

 

My dad was born on Friday the 13th of July, and he was a great guy, so how could I possibly have a superstition about Friday the 13th? 

 

I love Fridays. I don't care about the number.

 

Verbatim (cont.) 

 

Friday the 13th is very lucky for me. Both my son and I were born on the 13th of a month, Jan and May respectively. I was engaged on my birthday and I just celebrated my 45th wedding anniversary - so it's good luck all around. Only superstition is that both good and bad things occur in threes. 

 

I can't be superstitious. I have a black cat and she crosses my path every day. 

 

Usually this is one of my luckier days of the year. I love the number 13 especially on a Friday! My birthday is on the 13th and I always seemed to get more presents in the years that it fell on a Friday. Happy day! 

 

I was born on Thursday the thirteenth and have always considered the thirteenth and the number 13 to be lucky for me! 

 

my mother and her twin sister were born on Friday the 13th!!! 

 

The only significance Friday the 13th has for me is that it means there'll be a Tuesday the 17th, which is the name of a certain horror movie-themed episode of my favorite TV show - Psych. Whenever that day comes up, I watch that episode in honor of it. 

 

For those of us born on a Friday the 13th, it is a great day. 

 

Since I got married on a Friday the 13th (tomorrow is my anniversay) and we have been happily married for 28 years, I obviously don't have a problem with it. 

 

I'm not superstitious — it brings you bad luck. Regards Brian 

 

I don't really get nervous about it, but when others are acting out their own terrors they behave differently, even erratically, which can be dangerous for the unwary. 

 

I fear our present government more than anything else in this world, Friday the 13th, not at all. 

 

Perhaps it's the hype about Friday the 13th, but I have personally gotten laid off from work on Friday the 13th. 

 

most were sports related. preferred jersey, or pre game routine that had to be followed 

 

I'm surprised its not a Hallmark holiday. 

 

My mom and a cousin were both born on the 13th on Fridays, so its a good day. 

 

My only fear is that I have a direct report who is "severely paraskevidekatriaphobia-ic," and takes the day off, would like to take the day before off just to be sure, and worries about the whole thing for about a month before hand. He's called "Sheldon" by his peers (the Big Bang Theory), but actually, has less social grace than that.... 

 

Long as they keep falling on Friday, I'll continue to look forward to them.... 

 

What's the word for fear of the word paraskevidekatriaphobia? 

 

It's my birthday. It's a very good day for me! 

 

Mostly I'm superstitious about surveys about Friday the 13. Why tempt fate? 😉 

 

It's all about what you believe. The more you believe, the more it becomes a self-fulling prophecy.

«